Danielle Smith announces deal with Meta to build new AI data centre in Alberta

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: good afternoon everyone what a great day to gather together today thank you all for being here and a special thanks to premier smith deputy premier ellis minister segerson minister glubish deputy minister excuse me minister new north minister scow minister nally minister sane deputy minister stone and mayor natchi it is a pleasure to be here with all of you on the traditional territories of the peoples of treaty 7 in southern alberta the city of calgary is also home to the matey nation within alberta including nose hill matey district 5 and elbow matey district 6. we are proud of what is being announced today and are even more excited about what it signals for alberta's future so with that it is my privilege to welcome the premier of alberta danielle smith [00:01:09] Speaker 2: well thanks keith for that introduction and good afternoon everyone it is great to be here you'll hear from a few of my ministers and other speakers in a moment rj sigurdsson minister of affordability and utilities nate glubish minister of technology innovation lana natchu mayor of sturgeon county and gary damassi vice president of data center strategy at meta we're taking a break from stampede to celebrate an historic win for alberta and i'm happy to announce that meta has announced plans to build its first canadian data center in alberta representing an investment of more than 13 billion dollars in our province this is yeah this is one of the largest private sector investments in canadian history the project will create more than 3 000 contract construction jobs support 300 operational jobs and generate approximately 250 million annually in benefits for albertans including through royalties taxes levies and fees meta is also investing approximately 60 million dollars in local infrastructure improvements including roads and water infrastructure in addition alberta ratepayers will see approximately six percent as a reduction in the transmission portion of their electricity bills through project greenlight which is a 4.6 billion dollar 970 megawatt natural gas fired electricity generation facility that was announced last week by pemina pipeline corporation kineti core and morgan stanley infrastructure product partners this facility will generate electricity using natural gas produced right here in alberta and electricity that will help to power power this data center data centers are specialized facilities where thousands of servers and networking equipment process and store data connecting people to the technologies and services they use every day at work and in their homes the photos videos documents and messages that we share online all rely on data centers to be stored and processed the these facilities power meta technologies including uh facebook messenger instagram whatsapp meta quest threads and ai wearables helping to connect billions of people worldwide alberta has created the right conditions for growth and investment and it's paying off as world leading companies take note this is a success that goes beyond low taxes and less red tape alberta is the ideal north american spot for data centers thanks to affordable electricity flexible power generation a cooler climate a skilled workforce and lots of homegrown expertise in ai the global race for computing power is ramping up like never before driven by demand from artificial intelligence and data centers and to date it's drawn interest representing as much as 200 billion dollars in potential investment but attracting investment is only part of the equation alberta has been clear that growth must happen responsibly and alberta created rules for large ai data centers before opening the door to investment those rules help to keep electricity reliable and affordable protect alberta's water resources ensure major projects pay their own way and deliver long-term economic benefits and sizable contributions to government revenues for alberta for albertans unlike many jurisdictions competing for ai investment alberta requires large data centers to bring their own power paying for the infrastructure needed to support their operations and meet strict environmental and water standards those province-wide standards are being applied to all projects under consideration the sturgeon data center will be within alberta's industrial heartland which is a designated industrial zone not used for farming residential housing or food production the investment also includes new digital infrastructure connecting alberta to broader north american networks a lasting benefit to alberta businesses and communities and beyond the economic benefits environmental stewardship remains a key requirement protecting alberta's water resources has also been a key consideration in the project's design meta's sturgeon data center will use a closed loop liquid cooling system with dry cooling that requires no operational water water use for cooling water use at the site will be limited to domestic uses fire protection and equipment maintenance with all approvals required under the alberta's water act taking together these measures demonstrate alberta's approach to responsible growth attracting world-class investment while protecting the resources and infrastructure that albertans rely on add to that our low corporate taxes are highly skilled workforce and a supportive regulatory environment and we believe our province can compete with any jurisdiction on earth and what we have to offer alberta's well on the way to becoming a central player at the heart of the ai revolution and now with that i would like to ask gary de massey from meta to share more about the project [00:06:30] Speaker 3: thank you premier smith through those generous remarks and for your steadfast support for this project your leadership and your commitment to innovation have helped make this possible today so thank you so much we are grateful to our partners at the premier's office ministry of technology and innovation invest alberta sturgeon county and mayor natu the alberta ai concierge team and many organizations and individuals whose vision and collaboration brought us to this milestone today i also want to acknowledge minister newdorf and the minister of affordability and utilities along with brett wilson for being strong advocates for this project from the beginning along with minister glubish and the ministry of technology and innovation for putting alberta on our radar in the first place and to all the elected officials joining us today thank you for your support and for welcoming welcoming us into this outstanding community we are proud to be investing here and excited about what we can achieve together today we are thrilled to announce that sturgeon county alberta will be home to meta's newest data center our first in canada and our largest outside the u.s this 2.9 million square foot facility will represent an investment of more than 13 billion canadian dollars we are also making strategic network infrastructure improvements to ensure the region can accommodate future large-scale developments and this fall we will launch our annual data center community action grants program which provides direct funding for local non-profits that support the community like all of our data centers we're proud that the sturgeon data center's electricity use will be matched with 100 percent clean and renewable energy in other words we'll add enough clean energy to the grid to cover the entire data center's electricity consumption importantly meta pays the full cost of our data center's energy use so those costs are not passed on to consumers here in alberta we are fully funding new generation and grid infrastructure to support our data center which will improve reliability across the entire alberta grid and benefit all consumers so thank you to green light limited partnership alta link capital power and the alberta electric system operator and the alberta utilities commission for working with us from the beginning to plan our energy needs at meta we also strive to be good water stewards we're proud to minimize water use in our data centers by design from the start we use water as efficiently as possible in our operations for this data center we plan to use a water efficient closed loop liquid cooling system which uses dry cooling for the rest of the data center as a result the cooling system requires no operational water the on-site water use is limited to domestic uses fire protection systems and some equipment maintenance applications to put that into perspective our annual water use is actually less than a typical alberta golf course and meta has a goal to be water positive in 2030 that means we'll restore more water than we actually consume in our local watersheds here in alberta we're partnering with alus and local farmers to conserve 200 acres of grasslands trees and wetlands within the north saskatchewan river watershed just as a start in sturgeon county we're proud that we're not just investing in technology we're investing in people we're investing in jobs long-term relationships and being a reliable partner who listens to and shows up for their neighbors the collaboration the warmth the pride that you bring to this province inspires and our partners and challenges us to live out our mission of building the future of human connection and the technology that makes that human connection possible we believe that the success of the data center is only possible when the community itself succeeds along with it more than that we want sturgeon county and alberta to thrive so we look forward to putting down roots in this community and building a strong and positive partnership for many years to come so thank you uh please join me in welcoming minister glubich to the podium [00:11:28] Speaker 4: well thanks everybody uh this is a big deal for alberta i think we can all agree on that but more importantly it did not happen by accident it happened by design two years ago i came to the premier with a vision to make alberta the destination of choice in canada for ai data center infrastructure investment and she gave me the mandate to go and build a plan launch a strategy build a team launch our concierge service and get out there and sell alberta thank you premier for giving me that opportunity i remember it was about two years ago i set first sat down across from the global data center team uh at meta in their headquarters in silicon valley and at the time they had not heard of alberta but i can promise you that that meeting was the beginning of everything that then led to where we are today and so it has been a real privilege to lead this effort on behalf of the government of alberta and to work alongside of all my minister colleagues thank you for all of your work thank you to the public servants who backed us up thank you to my concierge team to invest alberta for all of your efforts to make this a reality folks we didn't do it by accident we did it by design we did it in a way that is going to benefit albertans we did not want to be first and rush in blindly we wanted to be smartest to ensure that we had fair reasonable clear regulatory framework a clear regulatory framework so that anybody who wants to build a data center here knows exactly what to expect exactly what they need to do and every alberta can be confident that their interests are protected and that they will benefit from this investment and i am confident to say that medicine announcement today is just further proof of all the work that we have been putting in over the last two years to make this reality and i believe it will be the first of many thank you very much [00:13:39] Speaker 5: well thank you for that minister gloobish and uh good afternoon everybody um it has been a great couple of weeks for alberta our energy and electricity sectors and our province future is looking so great great right now and today's announcement with meta is no exception this data center proves that alberta has the power to drive and lead global innovation on our own terms now when we set out to attract these data centers we knew that we needed to strike the right balance between protecting the reliability and affordability of electricity for albertans and building a pathway that enabled data centers to advance to market with incredible speed now meta choosing to make this historic investment in alberta makes it abundantly clear that we hit our target this project blends grid connected electricity with new generation enabling that grid connection through the iso's initial interim grid allocation process was crucial in giving meta the speed to market they needed without this grid connected pathway alberta would have um would may not have landed this massive new tenant now the first phase will draw 970 megawatts of electricity from the grid under a long-term contract with a wholesale power provider the 4.6 billion privately funded natural gas fired green light electric electricity center announced last week will be co-located on this site and enable the project to scale up to its full 1800 megawatt capacity without drawing further from the province's power grid now by encouraging the direct pairing of data center proponents like meta with projects like green light green light we are bolstering the reliability of our power grid and we're doing it using homegrown talent as you've heard with calgary based pembina pipeline and kinetic kinetic core powered the project forward this is how we safely welcome ai data centers into our province without putting our system at risk on top of that our government brought in cost causation principles which ensure that data centers not rate payers pay for the required grid upgrades this was designed to benefit electricity consumers across the province and as you've already heard a lot of people ask me what's the benefit of data centers as far as electricity is concerned in this case in this project albertans could see a reduction of up to six percent on the transmission portion of their utility bill this is good news for all this project demonstrates that alberta can support major new investment and create opportunities for growth all while maintaining a strong reliable and affordable electricity system at the same time it's another vote of confidence in alberta in our people and in our future and i think on three we it's day six of calgary stampede i think we should give this project on three a big yahoo one two three all right now with that i have the honor to invite mayor elena natchew to speak for sturgeon county thank you all [00:17:18] Speaker 6: thank you mr sakerson good afternoon everyone and thank you for y'all just happen to be here in calgary it is fitting that we're gathered here because what we're talking about today is certainly bigger than any one municipality it is about alberta's future and canada's place in a world that is rapidly changing to the meta team and to gary dimasi congratulations and thank you for choosing to invest in sturgeon county your decision shows that you do see the real value in our region and in alberta's industrial heartland when major projects like this are announced they bring excitement and opportunity and they also bring questions especially around infrastructure and our precious natural assets and those questions are fair and as a municipality it is our job to be able to steward multiple priorities all at the same time and we welcome investment and new opportunities and we protect the quality of life in sturgeon county that the people have expected us to safeguard and that balance is at the heart of every decision we make and that is why our long-term planning has directed intensive large-scale projects to establish heavy industrial areas like alberta's industrial heartland and the sturgeon county industrial park these areas were deliberately planned and zoned for heavy industry and they have the right infrastructure the right land use framework and the buffer zones between industry and homes we have strong controls around power and water environmental performance and land use and projects must show that they can operate under clear limits respect our environment and fit in within the broader regional plan the benefits to our residents are clear jobs and careers closer to home a stronger more diverse local economy and a broader industrial tax base that helps keeps residential and business property taxes competitive and private investment in roads utilities and connectivity that improves life across the region this announcement today is a part of a larger story with projects like green light electricity center a major power project approved to supply dedicated electricity in the heartland sturgeon county is becoming an important part of canada's emerging ai and power corridor and that brings opportunity and it also brings with it responsibility and speaking directly to the environmental side of the story because it is deeply important to each of us i'm so pleased that meta has embraced the environmental standards in our designated industrial zone and that they are willing part participants in our approach to responsible land stewardship on behalf of sturgeon county i would like to thank you for your support of the alternative land use system in our region which supports the renewal of strong relationships with landowners who are responsible and passionate about our environmental conservation and enhancement your support of this system allows sturgeon county to achieve cleaner water healthier wildlife habitat increased resilience to flooding and drought and more sustainable landscapes for future generations and that delivers long-term environmental and social impacts and it takes partnerships with the province of alberta with invest alberta with industry and with international investors to see the long-term potential in this region in sturgeon county we've spent more than two decades building the foundation for responsible growth planning our industrial areas carefully investing in modern infrastructure and working with our neighbors and partners to make the heartland a place where major projects can succeed without losing sight of what our communities value today's announcement shows that this long-term approach is paying off to the province thank you for creating a competitive environment for investment and for supporting regions like ours as we grow and to meta thank you for your confidence in sturgeon county and in alberta we want you to succeed here and we know that that success will be shared within our community on behalf of my council i would also like to recognize sturgeon county's administration we run a bit of a sweatshop around the county i might say they're all incredibly hard-working folks and we're in it's so indebted to them projects like this do not happen without the tireless efforts from our staff planning coordinating across partners reviewing complex proposals and making sure that growth is managed responsibly and in line with our residents expectations so thank you heartfelt thank you to our team for your dedication and professionalism and finally to our residents as we move forward we will continue to set the high standards on power water and environmental stewardship and land use we are building in sturgeon county we're building a future where we welcome innovation and opportunity and protect what matters most to our residents and play a meaningful role in alberta's and canada's emerging ai economy that is the balance that we're committed to so thank you all and congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this project to alberta and to sturgeon county and i'd like to now invite keith bradley to close us out thank you so much uh keith to you and your team for your support along the way thank you