From the Facts Hub · Category: Evidence & Research
Numbers tell a story. And the numbers behind the Goldfinch Technology Park proposal tell a story every Wheatland County resident needs to hear. Here is the data, plain and simple.
576 Acres of Tier 2 Farmland
That is 233 hectares of some of Alberta’s best agricultural land. To put it in perspective: that is nearly 440 CFL football fields of farmland, permanently removed from food production. Once it is paved over for data centre buildings, parking lots, and substations, it does not come back. As resident Heidi Pradt put it at the July 7 hearing: “This is the best tier farmland that we have in Alberta. Why do we have to build it on our tier 2, which is our best agricultural land?”
Source: Full application (81-page PDF)
3.5 Million Square Feet of Data Centre
The proposed campus would span 3.5 million square feet of building space. That is more than 60 football fields of data centre floors, spread across three phases of construction. For context, that is larger than many shopping malls, industrial parks, and even small town centres. And there is no guarantee it stops there — the three-phase buildout gives Diode room to expand if the first phases go through.
9 Years of Construction
Three phases means up to 9 years of construction activity. That is nine years of heavy trucks on rural roads. Nine years of noise, dust, and disruption. Nine years before we know whether the final phase even gets built — or whether the community is left with half-finished infrastructure and a fraction of the promised benefits.
2,555 Extra Car Trips Per Day
During construction, the developer’s own estimates point to 2,555 additional car trips every single day on our rural roads. As resident Heather Gagne asked: “Their traffic impact study has not even addressed that.” These are roads used by farm equipment, school buses, horse trailers, and families. The traffic impact study has not been completed — let alone independently reviewed.
Source: StrathmoreNow: Public hearing coverage
No End User, No Independent Studies
Here is the most important number: zero. Zero independent groundwater studies. Zero independent traffic studies. Zero independent noise studies. And, remarkably, the end user — the tech giant who would actually operate this facility — has not been named. Diode Ventures is asking Wheatland County to approve a framework for a data centre without telling us who will use it, what the environmental impacts will be, or how it will affect our water.
Source: Diode Ventures Goldfinch updates page
What These Numbers Add Up To
When you look at the scale — 576 acres, 3.5M sq ft, 9 years, 2,555 trips/day — one thing becomes clear: this is not a small adjustment to our community. It is a fundamental transformation of 576 acres of our best farmland, our quiet rural way of life, and the legacy we leave for the next generation.
And when you add in what we do not know — no named tenant, no independent studies — the only reasonable response is: slow down. Do this right. Or do not do it at all.
Next step: Share these numbers with your neighbours. Fact-based conversations are how we win. Read more on the Facts Hub or support the campaign.