Atlas field guides / British Columbia
Better questions.
Better site decisions.
Practical guidance for data centre developers investigating land, power, water and connectivity in BC. Start with the evidence—and know what needs a direct answer.
From a promising map pin
to a stronger brief.
A useful first screen gives you a reason to keep investigating—and a clear view of what could change your mind. These guides help you interpret the records around a site, frame a question a utility or carrier can answer, and prepare a stronger brief for design. Start with the question that matters most to your project.
Start with your project
Three briefs. Different questions to resolve.
Follow a specific BC scenario from its operating assumptions to the site evidence and the next enquiry. Each guide uses a dated real-location screen, with the limits kept alongside the findings.
Micro, edge and pilot facilities
Planning a micro data centre in BC
Use the BCR Industrial Lands reference point to examine the footprint, existing service questions and the planned expansion of a 0.5 MW pilot.
Read the project guideSmall profile / 5 MW starting point
Choosing a BC site for a neocloud or regional data centre
Translate a neocloud workload into a 5 MW service brief, then see why the actual Surrey parcel and its ALR overlap change the enquiry.
Read the project guideLarge profile / 25 MW starting point
Planning a larger data centre campus in BC
Test a 25 MW campus brief against allocation, cooling and route requirements. The NTE example shows why a pin is not a whole-site analysis.
Read the project guideFrom evidence to action
A promising site is the start of a conversation
Set the brief, challenge the assumptions and use a human review to decide what concept work is worth doing next.
Read the guideSite selection
How to screen a data centre site in British Columbia
A useful shortlist shows why a site deserves the next conversation—and what could still stop the project.
Read the guidePower readiness
How to assess power readiness for a BC data centre
The useful question is not simply “is there a line nearby?” It is whether the utility can serve this load, on these terms, by this date.
Read the guideProject profiles
Micro, small or large: how the site questions change
Choose a starting brief that reflects the operation, then replace every default with the project’s actual requirements.
Read the guideLand and utilities
What underground utility maps can—and cannot—tell you
Map the evidence, record the gaps and separate a development screen from a locate or a construction drawing.
Read the guideWater and connectivity
Turn water and fibre maps into service questions
Both systems have to reach the site, fit the operating requirement and remain dependable when the facility needs them.
Read the guideSee the output
A real location. Three different project briefs.
Inspect an actual Atlas screen, its selected footprint, the assumptions that change by profile and the questions that public data leaves open.
View the sample reportAccess and methodology
How Atlas counts a site—and keeps its evidence clear
Understand location allowances, the limits of current public data, and what is planned for API and ChatGPT access.
Read the guideHow to use these guides
Read the source. Keep the uncertainty.
Policy and dataset claims link to the primary publisher. Source-check dates describe this editorial review; they do not make every underlying observation current. Missing coverage stays an open question, not a favourable result.
These are public-source screening guides. Project-specific source review, concept development, utility studies and engineering investigations are separate work.
Beyond data centres
Exploring solar or renewable land?
Atlas currently screens data centre scenarios in British Columbia. We are taking enquiries to shape future renewable coverage; automated solar yield, export capacity and renewable feasibility are not currently offered.
Discuss a developmentGo beyond the public map.
Explore Atlas with public data first. When a candidate deserves a closer look, Driftwood’s separate $7,500 CAD Site Feasibility & Concept Design engagement adds a human-reviewed report and 25 hours of design consultation and concept work, additional to report preparation.
Review authorized private and paid data sources, where available, alongside the public screen, including licensed property or utility data and authorized utility or carrier responses where permitted. Check their source, date, site and project scope, reconcile the findings and turn confirmed items and unresolved questions into concepts and a next-step plan.
Record availability, permissions and any third-party fees are agreed before work begins.