Meta plans billions for first AI data center in Canada, largest outside the US
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- Meta will invest more than US$9.1 billion to build its first AI data center in Canada, located in Sturgeon County, Alberta, and the largest such facility outside the United States.
- Pembina Pipeline Corp., together with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor Asset Management, is developing the 932-megawatt Greenlight Electricity Center — a natural gas-fired plant that will power the site, expected to begin operating in the second half of 2030.
- Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish called the project "a big deal for Alberta," crediting the province's regulatory framework for attracting the investment.
- Alberta is prioritizing data center projects that build or secure their own power generation because the province's electricity grid cannot support multiple large AI facilities.
- Meta said the data center will use a closed-loop cooling system that won't draw water from surrounding sources, and will invest an additional US$42 million in local roads and water systems.
Why it matters: Meta needs a dedicated 932 MW gas-fired power plant because Alberta's grid can't carry hyperscale AI loads — a concession that sharpens, not eases, the electricity and water concerns the article itself flags. The late-2030 commissioning and $9.1 billion price tag make this one of Meta's largest single-site AI infrastructure commitments outside the U.S.
