Meta withdrew $13 billion data centre plan for Olds after pushback

Meta withdrew its $13 billion data centre proposal for the Town of Olds in March 2026, effectively abandoning the project after facing public pushback and regulatory questions.

Olds, located about 200 kilometres south of Edmonton, had initially appealed to Meta as a prospect. The town projected 2,000 temporary construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs at full scale — far more than the 300 permanent positions cited for Meta's later Sturgeon County project announced last week. Olds also stood to broaden its tax base and reduce pressure on residential taxes, according to the town's website.

But the proposal faced significant obstacles. A light industrial park with 1,500 residents within two kilometres raised concerns. When word of the courtship spread, digital opposition erupted on Facebook. One local resident, Rebecca Mac, posted in all caps: "LOCATION MATTERS!" and wrote that a hyperscale AI data centre with 600 industrial diesel generators, 800 chillers, 10 stacks, and a 1.4 gigawatt power plant with lithium ion battery storage was unsuitable for the site.

Meanwhile, the Alberta Utilities Commission barraged Meta's strategists with technical questions about the modular design, real-world examples of similar facilities, dry cooling systems, water usage estimates, and the qualifications of engineers who prepared the estimates. By March 10, 2026, Meta withdrew the Synapse Development Permit application without responding to the ongoing questions. The AUC eventually pulled the plug on the project that never broke ground. Olds has not necessarily closed its gates to future data centre proposals, according to Councillor Curtis J. Cook, though the town's website still lists two private data centre projects as proposed despite the AUC saying no current applications remain in play.