Alberta eyes gigawatt-scale AI data centres breaking ground this summer
Province pursuing $100B data centre investment by 2030 as Tech Minister promises major announcements and shovels in ground by August.
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Alberta could see major artificial intelligence data centre projects break ground as early as this summer, according to Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish.
"What you're going to see later this summer is some gigawatt-scale announcements," Glubish said during a panel at the Global Energy Show in Calgary. "These are shovels in the ground, permits complete, financing in place, and we're 12 to 18 months away from the first campus being turned on."
Alberta has set an ambitious goal to attract $100 billion in data centre investment by 2030, capitalizing on record growth driven by the global artificial intelligence arms race. Wes Cullum, senior vice-president of power generation with Beacon Data Centers, noted that Meta, Amazon, and Alphabet announced combined investment of $760 billion in data centres worldwide this year alone. Consulting firm McKinsey projects close to $7 trillion in data centre investment globally by 2030.
However, communities are increasingly pushing back. In British Columbia, hundreds of protesters recently opposed two planned data centres in Vancouver. In Alberta, Synapse Data Center Inc.'s proposed facility in Olds faces uncertainty after the proponent had to resubmit its proposal to regulators following public concerns.
Industry executives emphasized the need for proper community engagement. Mike Shaw, vice-president of business development at ATCO Ltd.'s energy systems division, said data centre projects require "ground game and getting that community support."
"That's going to take a lot of collaboration to get that support," Shaw said. "Otherwise, a lot of these projects will be stopped in their tracks."
The Alberta government has encouraged data centre developers to bring their own power generation to ease the burden on existing electricity infrastructure, a strategy intended to prevent electricity prices from rising for ratepayers. Glubish warned: "If you cause the cost on our grid, you're going to pay for it."