Pembina Pipeline announces stake in Alberta power plant that could supply data centre

The corporate logo of Pembina Pipeline Corp. is shown. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO

Pembina Pipeline Corp. announced it’s investing in a proposed Edmonton-area natural gas power plant that could supply a massive data centre complex, as it reported a dip in quarterly earnings and a boost in pipeline volumes.

It said Thursday it has entered into agreements for a 50 per cent stake in the Greenlight Electricity Limited Partnership, which aims to build an up to 1,800-megawatt power generation facility in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland. Its partner would be Kineticor Holdings LP, a subsidiary of pension manager OPTrust.

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The Greenlight Electricity Centre could include carbon capture, and it has enough land to accommodate a data centre complex with the same energy use as the plant’s output.

“We are excited to be partnering with Kineticor and for the opportunity to further extend our value chain to provide power to a promising new Alberta-based data centre industry,” said Stu Taylor, Pembina’s senior vice president and corporate development officer.

Kineticor said the centre would be on land already zoned for industrial use.

“Alberta’s Industrial Heartland is one of the best locations in the province to facilitate a project of this magnitude given the large land base, robust grid infrastructure, and potential for decarbonization solutions over time,” said Kineticor CEO Andrew Plaunt.

“By partnering with Pembina, we can leverage and combine our individual strengths and experience in major infrastructure projects to bring all the pieces together to develop a world-class facility.”

Alberta’s technology minister has said the province hopes to see $100 billion worth of artificial intelligence data centres under construction in the next five years. The massive operations require an immense amount of electricity to run and cool off computer servers.

Also Thursday, Pembina said it earned $572 million in its fourth quarter, down from $698 million a year earlier.

The Calgary-based company says revenues for the quarter ended Dec. 31 were $2.15 billion, up from $1.84 billion during the same quarter in 2023.

Earnings per diluted common share were 92 cents, down from $1.21 a year earlier.

Pembina’s earnings and revenues for the full financial year rose from 2023.

Pipeline volumes rose during the quarter and the full financial year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2025.