The data processing and bitcoin mining announced Thursday by Validus Power Corp. is only the first innovation it’s bringing to Iroquois Falls.
CEO Todd Shortt says it’s also planning a reforestation project. He says the trees will more than offset its carbon footprint from the cogeneration plant that will power the data centre.
Shortt says Validus doesn’t believe in buying carbon credits from elsewhere in Canada or the world.
“We believe that if you pollute here in Northern Ontario, you fix it here in Northern Ontario. We’re not going to greenwash any of it all, which is what the majority do.”
At the same time, he notes that the cogen plant uses non-polluting steam for the large majority of the energy it generates.
“But the reforestation will be very large,” Shortt remarks, “on a very large scale.”