Meta data centre in Alberta expected to open before nearby power plant
Meta data centre in Alberta may open before its power plant is ready See how the $13B project and grid access could affect timelines
Meta Platforms says its planned data centre north of Edmonton could begin operating in two to three years, before a new natural gasfired power plant built nearby is ready to supply it.
The $13billionplus facility is planned for Sturgeon County, while the $4.6billion Greenlight Electricity Centre is not expected to come online for about four years. The power project, a partnership involving Pembina Pipeline, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor Asset Management, is designed to produce 932 megawatts initially and could eventually double that output.
In the meantime, Meta says it has access to Alberta’s grid and may use other suppliers if needed. Alberta’s grid operator had previously reserved 1,200 megawatts of capacity for large projects such as data centres through 2028 to help prevent strain on the province’s electricity system.