We call on the Government of New Brunswick, the City of Saint John, and all relevant decision-makers to reject the proposed Beacon Data Centers / VoltaGrid hyperscale data centre and gas plant in Lorneville.

The development would  include:

• 89 hectares (220 acres) for a 390MW hyperscale data center and 190 MW gas plant 
• Destruction of a  healthy, fully-functional wetland and old-growth forest ecosystem next to the residential community of Lorneville
• New transmission lines routed near the Masquash Protected Natural Area
• Gas pipelines routed near Lorneville
• A new substation

The EIA for this project raises serious concerns, including:

Massive greenhouse gas emissions.The EIA estimates that the onsite gas plant alone would emit roughly 755,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG) per year, equivalent to about 6.6% of New Brunswick’s total 2023 emissions. This would make the project one of the province’s single largest emitters.

Destruction of high-functioning wetlands. The proposed development would destroy high-functioning wetland complexes distributed throughout the site. These wetlands are part of the natural system that stores and gradually releases cool fresh water to downstream residential wells, fish-bearing streams, and coastal salt marshes. Their destruction would strip the Lorneville area of essential ecological functions and climate resilience, while releasing large amounts of carbon accumulated over centuries.

Destruction of old growth forest. The EIA explicitly states that forest meeting the definition of old growth would be destroyed as a “long-term, irreversible, adverse effect.” It also identifies eastern white cedar, red spruce, and tamarack in the project area estimated to be as old as 280 years. Old-growth in NB is very rare due to incessant clear-cutting

A major new load on the New Brunswick Power Grid. In addition to the gas plant, the project would require another 200 MW from the NB Power grid, raising serious questions about grid capacity, infrastructure strain, and costs to ratepayers.

Risk to water, wetlands, and private wells. The EIA acknowledges potential pathways for effects on groundwater and water resources from blasting, drainage changes, dewatering, sedimentation, and other construction activities. DEstructio

Noise and quality-of-life concerns. Persistent 24/7 low-frequency hum is one of the most serious quality-of-life and mental health concerns associated with large data centre developments. Here, the baseline noise assessment was based on a single 24-hour survey next to a road and snowmobile trail, inflating baseline sound levels and understating the real acoustic impact the operational facility could have on the community, especially at night.

Weak jobs rationale. The EIA indicates the largest proposed development would create only about 210 permanent jobs on roughly 220 acres, an extremely poor return for land of such high ecological value.

Apparent avoidance of federal review. The proposed gas plant is set at 190 MW, just below the 200 MW threshold that can trigger federal impact assessment for a new fossil fuel-fired generating facility. That raises serious concern that the project has been deliberately sized to avoid the higher scrutiny and stronger protections a federal review could have brought to our community.

Nothing stops future expansion. If a 190 MW gas plant is accepted now,  that load may be further increased later while still avoiding a Federal Impact Assessment. Any increase would mean even more fossil fuel burning and even more greenhouse gas emissions.

No guarantee of any Canadian public benefit. The “data sovereignty” pitch is highly questionable. These are American companies (Voltagrid based in Texas and Beacon’s parent company Nadia Partners based in New York, and there is no guarantee this facility will be used for Canadian data or for any clear public-interest purpose. There is nothing stopping it from serving highly resource-intensive private AI workloads with little or no meaningful benefit to New Brunswick or Canada.

Misleading marketing and broken promises. Beacon Data Centers and VoltaGrid promoted themselves to the community as prioritizing “Environmental Stewardship,” while the City of Saint John repeatedly promoted the industrial park as “green and clean” and “non-emitting,” with job creation as a key justification. The EIA shows something very different: a major industrial development involving a hyperscale data centre, a 190 MW gas plant, major new greenhouse gas emissions, and destruction of wetlands and old forest. This is anything but green, clean, or non-emitting.

This type of project is not suitable for high ecological value land, not suitable immediately next to a residential community, and not suitable given our responsibility to future generations to address the dire immediate and long-term consequences of our changing climate.

We urge decision-makers to stop this project and protect Lorneville’s land, water, and community.