Meta Invests C$13 Billion in Alberta AI Data Center

Meta is investing C$13 billion ($9.17 billion) to construct a 1-gigawatt AI data center in Sturgeon County, Alberta. This facility marks the company's first data center in Canada and its 33rd globally, intended to support its generative AI expansion and core products.

To power the site, which will consume electricity equivalent to 800,000 homes, Meta signed a long-term agreement with Pembina Pipeline for the Greenlight Electricity Centre. This natural gas-fired plant is expected to be operational by late 2030. The company plans to offset the facility's energy consumption through investments in clean and renewable energy and will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system to minimize water usage.

The project will employ 3,000 construction workers at its peak and 300 operational staff upon completion. Meta will also contribute C$60 million toward local road and water infrastructure. Alberta officials attributed the investment to the province's cold climate and affordable natural gas.