BUZZ High Performance Computing has proposed a C$3.5 billion artificial intelligence campus in Oakville, Ontario, with a planned capacity of 320 megawatts, according to Craig Tavares, the company’s president and chief operating officer. The proposal places a major infrastructure development before a municipality that has temporarily halted new data center projects, raising questions about electricity demand, local infrastructure costs and environmental oversight. BUZZ HPC intends to fund the electrical connection, transformer infrastructure, necessary grid expansions and a new fibre-optic backbone privately. The project’s proposed timeline, however, will depend partly on local planning restrictions and the company’s progress toward formal regulatory submissions.

Private Funding Puts Grid Costs at the Center

Tavares told Capacity that BUZZ HPC would fund the infrastructure needed to connect the campus to the electricity network, keeping those expenses off the public’s shoulders. He said municipal taxpayers would not bear these costs, and residents would not face project-specific increases in electricity rates to cover them. This commitment addresses a central concern surrounding large-scale AI infrastructure: how developers can secure substantial power connections without shifting the financial burden to local communities. For utilities and policymakers, the proposal also raises a broader question about who should finance transmission upgrades as AI workloads drive electricity demand higher.

BUZZ HPC plans to connect the campus to Ontario’s provincial transmission grid and place the transformer station on company property. The company has not yet submitted a formal application, so regulators and local stakeholders still lack a complete picture of the project’s electricity requirements and grid integration plans. Through its formal filing, BUZZ HPC will disclose expected power demand, connection phasing and anticipated grid impacts. These details will help stakeholders assess how a 320MW facility could affect transmission planning and determine the timing of necessary infrastructure upgrades.

Oakville Moratorium Threatens 2027 Timeline

Oakville introduced a one-year moratorium on data centers that runs until August 2027, and the municipality could extend the restriction to two years. Such an extension could disrupt BUZZ HPC’s target of beginning operations in the second half of 2027 by delaying the approvals needed to advance the project. The campus therefore faces a timing challenge that extends beyond construction and equipment deployment, as municipal policy could determine when the company moves forward. For large AI developments, unresolved planning restrictions can turn the gap between announcing capacity and delivering operational computing infrastructure into a material project risk.

Tavares confirmed that engineers continue to assess the project’s water consumption and noise levels. He added that closed-loop liquid cooling means the campus would not require a continuous municipal water supply for cooling, a design choice that could ease concerns about the resource demands of energy-intensive computing facilities. BUZZ HPC also plans to set a noise target below municipal and provincial limits and commission independent tests before and after operations begin. These measures could help stakeholders compare actual operating conditions against the company’s stated targets, although the final environmental requirements and measurable performance conditions remain undisclosed.

BUZZ HPC Calls for Canadian Data Center Standards

BUZZ HPC is an original signatory to Canada’s Responsible Data Centre Development Principles. Tavares has proposed a Canadian standard for data centers that would include independent technical review, measurable conditions on environmental factors, post-operation testing and public performance reporting. Such a framework could give communities and regulators clearer ways to assess whether facilities meet their commitments after construction, rather than relying solely on projections made during planning. For developers, standardized requirements could also establish a more consistent basis for demonstrating environmental performance across jurisdictions.

The company is exploring district energy and waste-heat recovery opportunities, although it has not identified a waste-heat partner. Those options could eventually connect the campus’s thermal output with other energy users, subject to technical and commercial feasibility. Their inclusion in the planning process signals an interest in evaluating infrastructure beyond computing capacity and electricity supply alone. The proposal’s next major milestone will be the formal application, which should provide a clearer picture of the campus’s power requirements, environmental footprint and route toward development.