Meta to Build $9 Billion 1-Gigawatt Alberta AI Data Center as Capex Tops $145 Billion
Updated
Updated · CNBC · Jul 8
Meta to Build $9 Billion 1-Gigawatt Alberta AI Data Center as Capex Tops $145 Billion
3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Jul 8
Summary
$9 billion will fund Meta's first Canadian data center — a 1-gigawatt site in Alberta's Sturgeon County that the company expects to complete in two to three years.
Meta chose Alberta for available energy, grid capacity and a favorable regulatory setting, saying it has already worked with local power partners to secure future electricity needs.
The project is Meta's 33rd data center and part of a broader AI infrastructure push as it chases Alphabet, Microsoft and Amazon and explores selling excess computing capacity or hosted AI access.
More than 3,000 construction workers are expected at peak, though the buildout lands amid investor skepticism over Meta's AI spending and local concerns about emissions, water use and noise.
Alberta is betting its future on an AI boom, but can its strained power grid and water supply actually survive it?
With AI demand crippling power grids, must tech giants now build their own power plants just to keep growing?
Meta’s Hyperscale AI Hub in Alberta: Energy, Environmental, and Economic Impacts of a 900MW Data Center
Overview
Meta is launching a massive AI data center in Sturgeon County, Alberta, representing one of Canada’s largest investments in digital infrastructure. This project will serve as a critical hub for advanced computing and requires a huge amount of power. The Alberta Electric System Operator has already allocated over 900 megawatts of electricity to support the facility, allowing Meta’s data center to start operations before the full completion of the Greenlight power facility. This early power allocation highlights the project’s immense scale and importance, positioning Alberta as a key player in the future of AI infrastructure.