Meta will invest more than $9.1 billion (€8.4 billion) to build its first artificial intelligence data centre in Canada and its largest such facility outside the United States, with the project to be powered by a dedicated natural gas-fired electricity plant in Alberta.
The Facebook and Instagram parent company announced on Wednesday that the new facility will be constructed in Sturgeon County, Alberta. The data centre will receive power from the Greenlight Electricity Centre, a natural gas-fired generating station being developed by a consortium that includes Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Ltd.
The investment marks a significant expansion of Meta’s artificial intelligence infrastructure as technology companies continue to increase spending on data centres to support growing demand for AI computing capacity. Alberta has been actively seeking to attract hyperscale data centre projects as investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure accelerates.
Alberta’s Minister of Technology and Innovation, Nate Glubish, described the project as “a big deal for Alberta,” stating that the province has established a regulatory framework designed to attract investment in large-scale data centres.
The announcement comes amid increasing attention on the energy and environmental demands associated with artificial intelligence infrastructure. The rapid expansion of AI data centres has raised concerns over their substantial electricity consumption, water usage, and potential impact on power grids and surrounding communities.
According to the source text, Alberta’s electricity grid is currently unable to support multiple large AI data centres. As a result, provincial authorities are giving priority to projects capable of building or securing their own electricity generation capacity, a requirement that Meta’s project is designed to meet through its dedicated power supply.
Meta said the data centre will incorporate a closed-loop cooling system that will not draw water from surrounding sources. The company also announced plans to invest $42 million (€37 million) in local infrastructure, including upgrades to roads and water systems serving the area.
The power source for the project was announced separately last week, when Pembina Pipeline, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and Kineticor Asset Management confirmed they would proceed with construction of the Greenlight Electricity Centre in Sturgeon County. Meta was identified on Wednesday as the customer for the facility.
According to the announcement, the Greenlight Electricity Centre will have a generating capacity of 932 megawatts and is expected to begin operations during the second half of 2030. The plant will provide the electricity required to support Meta’s planned artificial intelligence operations at the new data centre.
The project represents Meta’s first AI data centre in Canada and its largest outside the United States, reflecting the company’s continued investment in infrastructure to support artificial intelligence technologies. The announcement also highlights Alberta’s strategy of linking large-scale data centre developments with dedicated energy generation as demand for AI computing facilities continues to expand.
