Validus Power Corp. (VPC) said it will further expand in Northern Ontario with a new site in Kapuskasing following the recent ground-breaking of the North Bay power plant and data centre. 

The company said the project includes the construction and operation of a 32,000 square foot High-Performance Compute (HPC) hosting facility, with the revitalisation of the Kapuskasing combined cycle power plant, which Validus acquired earlier this year.

As a part of an overall US$100 million investment in Northern Ontario, Validus will re-open the 45MW plant under its modernisation plan to gain additional operational efficiency and reduce emissions.

Validus said it anticipates the site to be fully operational by early spring 2022, and will bring approximately 25 highly skilled jobs to the local economy including engineers, millwrights, and data centre technicians.

Todd Shortt, President and CEO of Validus Power, said: “This is really exciting for everyone involved and Kapuskasing is an ideal location for us.  Reinvesting in Canada and specifically Ontario’s north is a natural fit.

“A data centre designed for high performance compute with steady reliable power fits well in a cool climate if you want to promote maximum operational efficiency.”

Kapuskasing Mayor David Plourde, added: “Northern Ontario is the future of Ontario. With that being said, we are extremely excited to announce the first phase of this project with Validus. 

“Bringing new and diverse jobs to the area is great for the economy and community overall. Also, incorporating our continuing reforestation program with Validus’ ESG initiatives is very synergistic.”

Last June, Validus Power solidified financing and supply chain agreements to execute on power expansion to exceed 2GW in the following 24 months in the Provinces of Alberta and Ontario. 

The power will be made available in phases and is being dedicated to serve the fast-growing Bitcoin and Blockchain mining community, high performance compute and hyperscale data centre markets.