en.Wedoany.com Reported - Meta has announced plans to build a 1-gigawatt artificial intelligence data center in Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada, marking the company's first large-scale data center project in the country. The investment for this project amounts to 13 billion Canadian dollars (approximately 9.18 billion US dollars).
According to Meta's press release, the facility will adopt a closed-loop liquid cooling system supplemented by dry cooling technology, with an expected annual operational water consumption lower than that of a local 50-acre farm. Meta stated that Sturgeon County was chosen as the ideal location for the data center due to its talented workforce, reliable infrastructure, and strong community partnerships. The company is committed to reducing the environmental impact of its data centers through a full lifecycle approach, focusing on design, construction, operation, and responsible equipment management.
Meta also noted that the project will add sufficient clean energy to Alberta's power grid to match 100% of the electricity consumption of the Sturgeon data center. Meta will fully cover the energy costs of the data center to avoid impacting electricity bills for nearby communities. The power demand planning for this project involves Greenlight Limited Partnership, Altalink, Capital Power, and the Alberta Electric System Operator. The new power generation and grid infrastructure are expected to enhance the reliability of Alberta's power grid.
Meta aims to achieve water positivity by 2030, meaning it will restore more water than it consumes within the operational watershed. The company plans to annually publish water intake and energy usage data for its facilities and will disclose operational data for the Sturgeon data center after it begins operations. Additionally, Meta plans to launch an annual data center community action grant program in the region, providing funding to local non-profit organizations and investing 60 million Canadian dollars (approximately 42 million US dollars) in local infrastructure improvements such as roads and water systems.
