EverWind plans a 420 MW AI data-centre campus in Nova Scotia, with Anthropic leasing the first phase

EverWind announced on 16 October plans for more than $10 billion in private investment in Nova Scotia: more than $8 billion for a data-centre campus at its Point Tupper industrial site on Cape Breton Island and $2 billion for four onshore wind projects. The campus is planned to start with a 95 MW phase in late 2027, followed by a 325 MW expansion targeted for 2028, for 420 MW in total, subject to commercial, technical and regulatory conditions. EverWind said it has a long-term lease with "a leading frontier AI developer" for the first phase. As reported by CBC News, Anthropic will lease the first phase for at least 20 years and said in its own release that the site "will power Claude models and serve growing demand from Canadian and global customers." EverWind says it will fully fund electricity-system costs attributable to the development so they are not passed on to Nova Scotia ratepayers, fund water infrastructure costs attributable to it, use closed-loop cooling (about 100,000 litres of water a day for the first phase and about 500,000 litres a day at full build-out), and set up a community benefit programme worth tens of millions of dollars. It expects about 2,000 construction positions and 215 permanent jobs, and is negotiating an ownership stake for a First Nations consortium led by Membertou Development Corporation. EverWind has signed the Government of Canada's Responsible Data Centre Development Principles.

What it means for business: this adds planned AI computing capacity in Canada from late 2027; organisations with Canadian data-residency needs may want to watch which services end up hosted there. EverWind says the planned expansion will not be connected to the grid until the required system studies and approvals are complete.