The data centre was first announced last year.<\/a> At the time, partners Pembina Pipeline Corporation, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and Kineticor Asset Management said they would build and power the data centre to serve what was then an unnamed client.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meta said it will invest $13 billion CAD into the data centre, claiming the project will support 3,000 jobs as it is being built and 300 permanent jobs once it is operational. The company is also spending $60 million CAD in local infrastructure improvements, including upgrades to roads and water systems. Whether those upgrades will be directly related to servicing the data centre was not specified.\u00a0<\/p>\n Representatives from Alberta issued statements supporting the project, with the Province claiming the data centre will generate around $250 million in annual benefits, mostly through royalties, taxes, levies, and fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor two years we promoted Alberta to the biggest players in the world, built a clear, competitive and fair regulatory framework, and put a concierge team to work helping proponents like Meta move fast,\u201d Alberta\u2019s innovation minister, Nate Glubish, said in a press release today. \u201cData centres need reliable energy and speed to market. Meta\u2019s investment proves that Alberta delivers.\u201d<\/p>\n Data centres required to provide own power<\/p>\n Under Alberta\u2019s AI data centre strategy<\/a>, large-scale data centres like Meta\u2019s are required to provide their own power and pay for the infrastructure needed to support their operation. Meta said it will pay the full cost of the data centre\u2019s energy use. The data centre will connect with Alberta\u2019s electricity grid, but also buttress that connectivity with on-site, natural-gas generated electricity through a partnership with the Greenlight Electricity Centre<\/a>, a 932-megawatt facility which was approved last week<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The data centre\u2019s 1GW energy load is roughly two-thirds the amount used by the entire city of Edmonton, which according to the Alberta Electric System Operator<\/a> is 1.4GW, while Calgary consumes 1.8GW. It will be roughly 10 times<\/a> the energy load of the largest data centre being built by Telus in BC.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meta said it plans to match the data centres\u2019 electricity use with \u201c100 percent renewables\u201d but didn\u2019t say where those renewables would come from.<\/p>\n Alberta also requires data centre operators to meet sustainability requirements under the provincial Water Act<\/a>. Meta has claimed its new data centre will employ a \u201cwater-efficient, closed-loop, liquid-cooled system.\u201d That would limit water use at the site to domestic uses, fire protection, and equipment maintenance, though the definition of what constitutes equipment maintenance was not made clear.\u00a0<\/p>\n For two years we promoted Alberta to the biggest players in the world, built a clear, competitive and fair regulatory framework, and put a concierge team to work helping proponents like Meta move fast.<\/p>\n Nate Glubish, Alberta\u2019s innovation minister<\/p>\n Concern around the environmental and human impact of data centre development has prompted backlash from impacted communities over the past year. In Manitoba, Premier Wab Kinew rejected the development<\/a> of a large-scale data centre, saying it wouldn\u2019t be in the best interest of constituents. In Olds, Alta., public opposition contributed to derailing a hyperscale project<\/a> there earlier this year. BetaKit reached out to the Sturgeon River Watershed Alliance for comment on the development and its potential environmental impacts, but did not immediately receive a response.<\/p>\n Just this week, a Meta-affiliated data centre<\/a> in Wyoming flushed bacteria-contaminated wastewater into public sewer systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a press release, Sturgeon County mayor Alan Hnatiw praised the decision by Meta to make Sturgeon County the home of its first Canadian data centre, saying the location was chosen specifically because of the Alberta Industrial Heartland zone and its proximity to skilled workers. He also said the project would help diversify the municipality\u2019s non-residential tax base.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe welcome Meta to Sturgeon County,\u201d Hnatiw said. \u201cThis project will create opportunities for our residents, diversify our tax base and support our community for years to come.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n BetaKit reached out to Meta to confirm its reason for choosing Sturgeon County, but has not yet received a response.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Sturgeon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Screenshot_2026-07-08_at_21204_PM-1-1024x659.png\" "\\"Sturgeon")
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