Keel has obtained permission to enter into an agreement to transfer 98 megawatts of existing power capacity to a new data-centre project in Sherbrooke, Que., and agreed to acquire a 100-acre land parcel in the Montreal region.

The infrastructure company has secured municipal approval for agreements that would allow it to consolidate power from three existing Bitcoin mining sites into a proposed 96-megawatt data centre campus in Sherbrooke. Keel is expected to use the Montreal-area land for another data-centre projet.

The company said the City of Sherbrooke approved an agreement with Hydro-Sherbrooke to transfer and operate 96 MW of existing electrical capacity at the new site. The power transfer remains subject to review and approval by Quebec’s Ministry of Economy, Innovation and Energy.

Keel said the agreement will enable the company to avoid having to request additional electricity, while also receiving approval to recategorize the 96 MW of capacity from Bitcoin mining to high-performance computing and AI applications.

Meanwhile, the proposed land purchase remains subject to customary conditions, including site inspections, feasibility analysis and municipal approvals, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027.

“These [Sherbrooke]developments represent an important step forward in the development of our Sherbrooke project, which will be one of the largest data-centre projects in Quebec,” said Philippe Fortier, executive vice-president, corporate development at Keel. “The city’s approval of these agreements reflects the strength of the project and our commitment to the Sherbrooke community.

“We have operated with great success in Québec since our company’s inception, and this project reinforces our long-term commitment to contributing to both the local and broader Quebec economies while delivering state-of-the-art digital infrastructure.”

Keel said it plans to work with local and regional stakeholders as the project advances and will provide updates as development progresses.

New York City-based Keel is a digital-infrastructure and energy company that develops and owns data centres and energy infrastructure for high-performance computing workloads, including AI. The company’s development pipeline has 2.2 gigawatts and established grid interconnections already in place. The firm delivers scalable infrastructure solutions in high-demand power markets across Pennsylvania and Washington State and Quebec in Canada.

Pictured: Future Keel data centre in Sherbrooke, Que.

Rendering: Keel