Everwind says $8-billion Nova Scotia data centre will use no public money

Officials with Everwind Fuels say the company will not ask for or take any government money for its proposed $8-billion data centre campus in Nova Scotia. CFO Matthew Tinari sent a letter this week to Finance Minister John Lohr saying the project is “100 per cent privately funded” and will not use tax dollars.

Tinari said the pledge covers tax credits, capital grants, payroll rebates, forgivable loans and any other provincial contribution. Lohr had previously said the province had not ruled out incentives, and he told CBC News he was surprised to receive the letter. The company said the timing was meant to address feedback from recent open house meetings and last week’s protests.

Everwind says financing has closed on the first facility in the project. The initial phase is a 95-megawatt data centre that will be leased to Anthropic for 20 years, with power coming from the provincial grid. Everwind and Anthropic have said they will pay for any needed grid upgrades. Company officials say the first centre should be online by the end of next year. A second phase, with 325 megawatts of capacity, is proposed for 2028 and is expected to rely on four onshore windfarms when complete.

Tinari’s letter also lists projected economic effects from modelling commissioned by the company, including about $1.5 billion in corporate income tax over the full 20-year operating term, about $75 million in personal income tax from construction, and more than $400 million in municipal tax revenue. The company says the project could create about 2,000 construction jobs and 215 permanent jobs. Tinari also said an implementation agreement is still being worked on with provincial officials and would cover water use, drinking water protection, power rates, no government assistance and community benefit agreements.