DataCentreing.com targets industrial sites for data centres

DataCentreing.com has launched a service that aims to turn industrial sites with existing grid connections into data centre capacity. The Vancouver company is targeting owners, developers, towns, First Nations and data centre operators.

It is focusing on former smelters, mills, printing plants and telephone exchanges built with large power connections that may still be in place. The company argues that reusing those connections can bring capacity to market faster than waiting for new grid power.

Its offer starts with a free Site Score, which assesses power, fibre, zoning, cooling, water and community fit. Sites are rated separately for edge and hyperscale use, and higher-scoring locations can then be marketed to data centre buyers through services including Site Book and Site Launch.

The company is entering a market where operators and developers are looking for ways to secure power quickly. In the United States, former industrial and energy sites have already been used for large data centre deals. These include an idle aluminium smelter in Hawesville, Kentucky, leased to Anthropic for 401 MW over 20 years, and the retired Lake Mariner coal plant site in New York, where Fluidstack signed 200 MW for 10 years with Google backing the lease.

Industrial shift

DataCentreing.com is also pitching to Engineering firms, Architects, Contractors and Suppliers seeking access to conversion work tied to powered industrial buildings. Through a service called Prospecting Desk, it identifies owners and developers in a firm's territory and makes 50 or 100 calls a month in that firm's name.

Brokerages and agents are another target group. Its Territory Signals and Brokerage Desk products track property owners and developers seeking to convert powered buildings into data centres.

For developers and municipalities, the company is highlighting community opposition as a project risk. It cites Gallup polling showing that 71% of American adults said they would oppose a data centre in their area, and offers a Community Risk Assessment delivered in 10 business days to identify stakeholders and likely resistance before planning hearings.

That community element is likely to remain central as more projects move from greenfield sites to existing industrial locations closer to established infrastructure and settled populations. In Singapore, for example, the government said it would be more selective about the data centres it accommodates, favouring the most resource-efficient projects after a review that began in 2019.

First Nations focus

A significant part of the company's pitch is aimed at First Nations in western Canada, where land ownership and local decision-making may rest with the same community. In those cases, a large grid connection can become part of a broader ownership strategy rather than simply support a land lease.

It points to Mihta Askiy, a planned 650 MW data centre at an idle power plant site near Peace River, Alberta, in which Woodland Cree First Nation owns a 51% stake. It also notes that BC Hydro's 2026 Call for Demand for data centre projects scores First Nations benefits, while Canada's Indigenous Loan Guarantee Program can guarantee equity loans for Indigenous groups from CAD $20 million to CAD $1 billion per project.

DataCentreing.com says it helps First Nations assess what their land and power can support, create a readiness record for review by lenders or BC Hydro, and plan community engagement. Its stated aim is to support communities that want to take an ownership role in developments on their land.

The company describes its method as a five-part review covering power, permitted use, cooling and fibre, community readiness and site control. It says AI research agents gather the supporting information, which is then signed off by people.

"Much of the power that new data centres need is already wired into old mills, plants and telephone exchanges. DataCentreing.com finds that power, proves it in writing and helps the town next door ask for what it wants," said a Spokesperson for DataCentreing.com.