Question 1

What is a bring-your-own-power AI data centre campus?

Accepted Answer

A campus that builds its own generation on the customer side of the meter instead of waiting for a utility interconnection. Because the power is behind the meter, the project sidesteps the five-to-seven-year queue that now applies to large loads across much of North America, and can energize in 18–24 months on the developer's own schedule.

Question 2

Why are AI data centres building their own power plants?

Accepted Answer

Because grid allocation, not capital or land, has become the binding constraint. In British Columbia the 2026 BC Hydro Call for Demand opened only about 400 MW over two years with a 145 MW per-project cap; in Alberta roughly 20.7 GW of requests face a 1,200 MW limit to 2028. Demand far exceeds what utilities can allocate, so financeable projects that lose the allocation lottery still need power.

Question 3

Is an energy-first campus worse for the grid than a normal data centre?

Accepted Answer

It is generally better, because the load never lands on the grid in the first place. Beyond that, an energy-first campus is designed to be dispatchable: storage plus compute that can shed within seconds means the facility can support the system at peak rather than add to it, and exported heat displaces gas heating in neighbouring buildings.

Question 4

How fast can a bring-your-own-power campus be energized?

Accepted Answer

Typically 18–24 months from a committed start, against five to seven years for a new large-load utility interconnection. The determining factors are generation lead time — 9–18 months for gas engines, fuel cells or linear generators, 3–4 years for combined cycle — plus municipal permitting, which is why site selection and rezoning status matter more than equipment availability.

Question 5

What does GRECO develop that a colocation operator does not?

Accepted Answer

The energy layer underneath the building. GRECO develops generation, grid-scale storage, liquid cooling, interconnection and the district-heat export train as one coordinated system, so an offtaker leases finished, powered capacity from a single counterparty rather than assembling a shell, a power contract and a cooling retrofit separately.

AI campuses that bring their own power