Meta picks Alberta for First Canada Data Center
Tech leader Meta revealed plans to construct a large data center in central Alberta, marking its initial facility in Canada, as it swiftly expands its computing resources to cater to the worldwide AI surge.
Meta stated that the 1-gigawatt data center, which signifies a total investment of C$13 billion or $9.17 billion, will be situated in Sturgeon County.
Meta has committed extensively to AI, promising hundreds of billions of dollars to establish massive AI data centers in the U.S. The announcement regarding Alberta marks the company's 33rd data center worldwide.
Executives announced the news in Calgary with Premier Danielle Smith and various Alberta government officials, who have spent years attracting Silicon.
The province's chilly climate additionally enhances the cost-efficiency of cooling the large supercomputers and their associated data center infrastructure.
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The 20 current small- to mid-sized data centers in Alberta draw from the province's energy grid, with 60% of it fueled by natural gas.
The provincial government is allowing new proponents to create their own power sources to bypass restrictions on power capacity.
Meta announced Wednesday that it will completely finance new generation and grid infrastructure for its data center in Alberta, which will use roughly the same amount of electricity as 800,000 households.
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The firm has collaborated with Pembina Pipeline, based in Alberta, which revealed last week that it will proceed with its Greenlight Electricity Centre, a new natural gas-powered generation facility in Sturgeon County set to be operational by late 2030 and with which Meta holds a long-term tolling agreement.
Pembina states that the project will need about 150 million cubic feet of natural gas daily, generating demand for producers of natural gas in Western Canada.
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Last month, the Canadian government unveiled an AI strategy that proposed that the expansion of data centers would take advantage of the nation’s clean electricity grid, primarily fueled by renewable and low-emission energy sources.