The Approvable Data Centre
The Approvable Data Centre is a design and engagement standard for large data centres in Ontario. It puts four things on every term a data centre is asked to meet: a number, a public meter, a verifier the proponent does not pay, and a guarantee. Terms cover separation, night-time noise at the boundary, potable water, hours on batteries before an engine starts, megawatts added to the local peak, a capacity cap with agreed phases, a host community contribution, and a recorded host-acceptance process. Council decides; the standard records.
Status
Version 0.5 is a pre-publication working draft, in comment with industry and resident groups. Comments received by November 10, 2026 receive a written answer, published on the register, before version 1.0 is released on November 15, 2026. The text is free to cite and adopt with attribution. The standard certifies nothing until a public authority references it; the certification mark and practitioner course are deferred to a later release. The standard is being transferred to an independent not-for-profit body; its funder limits and register will be published with 1.0.
Reviewed by, not endorsed by, the mission-critical and data-centre market lead of a national engineering firm, in a two-hour working session on October 19, 2026.
Downloads
Nine terms residents have asked for on the Ontario record, each with a number, a public meter, an independent verifier and a guarantee. Shared with resident groups and two Ontario ministers’ offices.
Comment form
Version: v0.5 comment round, October 27, 2026
Industry comment form: the repricing test
One form per clause. A clause changes when a comment shows, in a chain anyone can follow, that it would price a compliant Ontario data centre out of the comparison with the jurisdictions the workload could otherwise lawfully be hosted in. Comments received by November 10, 2026 receive a written answer before the 1.0 release.