Construction accelerates at AI data centre near Red Deer<\/p>\n
Published 11:52 am Monday, January 26, 2026<\/p>\n
Companies behind an artificial intelligence data centre in Red Deer County announced a major construction milestone on Monday.<\/p>\n
Havenz Smart Communities, in partnership with Energy Haven and Indigenous equity partner Turning Stone, said the first set of hydrogen-ready reciprocating engines have arrived, and construction is now underway of AHI Hub of Innovation in the Blindman Industrial Park north of Red Deer.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a gratifying moment for our project team. The first power module remains on track to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2026,\u201d said Sunny Sarpal, CEO of AHI Hub of Innovation, in a statement.<\/p>\n
Tier-1 hydrogen-ready reciprocating engines are being installed to provide the reliability and flexibility required for AI computing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe unique distributed power architecture of our project will enable expansion in a planned, modular way, which means generating capacity can be scaled directly to demand from customers,\u201d Sarpal said.<\/p>\n
He said the phased, modular approach being used supports rapid scaling, long\u2011term tenancy, and institutional investment without the delays associated with traditional grid\u2011dependent developments.<\/p>\n
Construction of the first power block is now fully underway, including the building foundations, mechanical and electrical work, and supporting infrastructure. Future phases of the project will further expand on\u2011site power generation, energy storage, and grid\u2011interface capabilities, to create a scalable platform for both customers and export opportunities.<\/p>\n
The industrial innovation campus, designed to scale-up to deliver hundreds of megawatts of on\u2011site generation, and is being engineered for power\u2011intensive sectors such as AI data centres, cloud infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, and agri\u2011tech.<\/p>\n
The project\u2019s developers said once the innovation hub is fully built out, it will be positioned to attract private investment in large\u2011scale power assets, digital infrastructure, and tenant\u2011driven capital projects.<\/p>\n
The hub will also generate significant economic benefits for the Red Deer region, such as construction jobs, long\u2011term operations roles, Indigenous and regional supply\u2011chain participation, as well as additional tax revenues for municipal and provincial governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy providing power\u2011secure, execution\u2011ready infrastructure, we are further strengthening Alberta\u2019s ability to retain global AI and industrial investment,\u201d Sarpal added.<\/p>\n