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Meta has announced it will build a massive one-gigawatt data centre northeast of Edmonton, the company’s first such project in Canada.
In a news release issued Wednesday, the company behind social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram said it will invest more than $13 billion in the project, which will be built in Sturgeon County.
Meta is also promising to invest $60 million to improve local infrastructure.
The company said the project will use a closed-loop, liquid-cooled system with “dry cooling” to eliminate operational water use. The data centre will be powered by electricity drawn from the grid as well as power generated on-site by natural gas.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith joined Meta officials and Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw for a news conference about the project that was held in Calgary.
Smith said the Meta project would generate at least $250 million for Alberta each year.
Meta is investing roughly $13 billion to build its first AI data centre in Canada, located an hour outside Edmonton. The project promises to create thousands of jobs, but has some concerned about its environmental impact.
Smith touted Alberta’s cool climate, skilled workforce and local expertise in artificial intelligence (AI) as the reasons for interest from the industry.
“We believe our province can compete with any jurisdiction on Earth and what we have to offer,” she said.
“Alberta is well on the way to becoming a central player at the heart of the AI revolution.”
Last fall, Alberta passed legislation that allowed data centres to generate their own power.
Lower water use
Data centres are controversial because of the demand they can place on water resources, particularly to cool equipment.
Gary Demasi, vice-president of data centre strategy and development for Meta, said the project won’t require water to cool the systems.
“To put that into perspective, our annual water use is actually less than a typical Alberta golf course,” he said at the news conference.
“Meta has a goal to be water-positive in 2030. That means we’ll restore more water than we actually consume in our local watersheds.”
Meta said the project will create 3,000 jobs during construction, and 300 jobs once the facility is operating.
Demasi said the Sturgeon County project will be Meta’s 33rd data centre.
The facility will be located in an area northeast of Edmonton known as the Alberta Industrial Heartland. The Meta data centre will be joined by Project Greenlight, a natural gas-powered electricity general facility.
The company doesn’t have a set date for when the data centre will begin operations, but it will be “in the next few years,” Demasi said.
Mark Daley, chief AI officer at Western University in London, Ont., called data centres one of the big economic engines of the 21st century.
Canada is a large country with plenty of energy resources, so it makes sense to build data centres in this country, he said. Having Meta build a facility would be the “jewel in the crown” for any province trying to develop a strategy.
“You have one of the world’s largest technology corporations saying, ‘I have full faith and confidence that what I need can be delivered in this environment,'” Daley said.
“Certainly that’s going to be noticed by everyone else who is that scale and below, and will probably lead to more opportunities.”
But not everyone is as keen on Alberta’s strategy, which encourages project proponents to generate their own power, so the province’s electrical grid isn’t strained.
David Pickup, director of the Pembina Institute’s electricity program, said Alberta’s policy seems set on creating demand for natural gas, while setting aside cheaper, low-carbon alternatives.
Pickup said data centre demands, in addition to increased LNG exports, could drive up prices for consumers.
“It’s going to have an impact on Albertans and that’s something that we’re really concerned about,” he said.
Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish said he understands why Albertans are asking questions, but his staff did the legwork to ensure the province avoids scenarios seen in the United States.
“Alberta is doing it differently,” Glubish said.
“We took the time to get the regulatory framework right. It’s a fair, reasonable and competitive framework. Everyone’s going to follow the same rules.”
Any company that breaches those rules will be held accountable, he added.
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