An area the size of 33 Canadian Football League fields is rapidly transforming as crews continue work on a $13-billion AI data centre in Sturgeon County. Aerial images of the site – near Highway 643 and Range Road 222 – shows much of it has been excavated and new roads are in place for construction vehicles. The 1-gigawatt data centre is Meta’s first in Canada and is expected to come online in 2028. The centre will eventually be powered by a new natural gas power plant that is scheduled to be completed in 2030. Meta said about 3,000 workers will be on site at the peak of construction and the data centre will support more than 300 operational jobs. Alberta set to lead the country in data centre growth Researchers with the Schulich School of Business at Toronto’s York University released a report on the growth of data centres in Canada earlier this year. Using data from the infrastructure and energy intelligence company Arterio, researchers found Alberta is far outpacing other provinces in planned projects. “Based on the last upload from June, about 92 per cent of those in the pipeline were in Alberta,” report co-author Lyndsey Rolheiser told CTV News Edmonton. The report shows all the Alberta projects planned would use more than 20,000 megawatts of electricity, nearly the entire amount the province can currently generate under ideal conditions. The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) said 23,393 megawatts was the maximum capability of the total installed generation capacity connected to Alberta’s grid as of July 30. “I think there are some questions that we need to wrestle with in terms of what that impact is on the grid because it is so significant,” said Martin Boucher, the head of Norquest College’s Community Innovation Centre. Power plans The province’s ‘bring your own power’ policy requires large data centre developers to secure their own generation instead of relying on the public grid. Some, however, are being allowed to tap into the grid while their power sources are being built. AESO has allocated 1,200 megawatts to interim generation for data centres until 2028 with 230 megawatts going to the Keephills facility in Parkland County and 970 megawatts for the Meta project. The electric system operator is currently developing a long-term framework for ‘large load growth.’ It was originally scheduled to be released in August but the operator told CTV News Edmonton it is now set to be released this fall. AESO declined an interview on this topic. A Pembina Institute Report found temporary power use from the Meta project alone could add hundreds of dollars to Albertans’ power bills. Minister touts data centre benefits Alberta’s technology and innovation minister told CTV News Edmonton in a July interview, the province has the means to support significant data centre growth. “We have one of the largest natural gas reserves in the world,” said Nate Glubish. “This is an opportunity for us to get that to a global market and these project proponents are basically saying, if we can get electricity then that’s a good jurisdiction for us.” Glubish said he views data centres as a pathway to more opportunity and wealth for Albertans. The province said the Meta project will generate about $250 million a year in royalties, taxes, levies and transmission fees. “We’ve got the workforce, the talent, a regulatory framework that balances strong protections from an environmental perspective but also a ‘get ‘er done’ entrepreneurial attitude. You can’t say that in every jurisdiction across Canada and the U.S.,” said Glubish. Meta has promised to spend $60 million on infrastructure improvements in Sturgeon County and said it will provide grants and funding to local nonprofits. This is the first in a series CTV News Edmonton is producing on data centres in Alberta
