All the sources I’m finding say 7 to 18 GW, not 20 MW.

I agree entirely, and I do hope my comment didn’t appear to try to justify this insane data center buildout. We don’t need any more data centers, and we need to completely eliminate fossil fuel usage.

I would also think that the heat may dry and kill the flora in the vicinity, which could potentially increase fire risk. But I’m no expert.

Global warming is caused by GHG emissions causing the atmosphere to delay the Earth’s radiation of heat from the sun back into space. The heat directly emitted by the data center would have more of a local effect. It is apparently unprecedented in terms of a point heat source so it could potentially be quite destructive to the local environment. That being said, the article stated the data center alone would also account for a whopping 4% of Canada’s GHG emissions.