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Meta's largest AI project in Canada
The data center will be located in Sturgeon County in central Alberta. Its capacity will be 1 gigawatt, with the possibility of further scaling up to 1.8 gigawatts. The total investment in the project is estimated at 13 billion Canadian dollars, which is approximately 9.17 billion US dollars.
Why did Meta choose Alberta?
The region attracted the company due to two key advantages — affordable energy and a cool climate. Low temperatures make it possible to reduce the costs of cooling powerful equipment that is used for the operation of artificial intelligence systems.
Alberta authorities have been trying to attract large technology companies from Silicon Valley for several years, offering favorable conditions for the development of data centers. According to representatives of the province, other large-scale projects of this type are already being prepared in the region.
The data center will consume as much electricity as 800,000 houses
The new Meta facility will have huge energy needs — its consumption will be roughly equivalent to 800,000 households. In order not to create an additional load on Alberta's electricity grid, the companies were allowed to build their own energy infrastructure.
Own generation and partnership with energy companies
Meta plans to fully finance the construction of new energy capacities and the necessary network infrastructure. The company also entered into an agreement with Pembina Pipeline to build the Greenlight Electricity Center gas-fired power plant, which is scheduled to be commissioned at the end of 2030.
Until the new station is put into operation, Capital Power will supply electricity for the data center from its existing gas facilities.
Meta promises to reduce environmental impact
Representatives of the company say that they compensate for the use of electricity by investing in clean and renewable energy. The data center also plans to use a closed liquid cooling system, which will require much less water compared to traditional systems.
Environmentalists opposed the large-scale project
Despite Meta's statement, Canadian environmental groups criticized the construction. Greenpeace Canada noted that Alberta has high emissions due to its heavy dependence on gas-fired power, and called for restrictions on the construction of large data centers until stricter rules for the AI industry emerge.
Meta is building its own AI capabilities
The new data center is part of the company's global strategy for the development of artificial intelligence. Meta is also working on creating its own cloud business, which will allow selling access to computing resources for the operation of AI models and services.