Multiple reports say Meta Platforms plans to build its first large-scale AI data center in Canada, in Sturgeon County, Alberta. The total investment is put at about US$9 billion (around C$13 billion), with a power capacity of roughly 1 gigawatt (GW).
Reported Plan · Sturgeon County, Alberta
Meta's US$9B Bet on Alberta: Its First Data Center in Canada
Reports say Meta would build a ~1GW AI data center powered by its own adjacent natural-gas plant — a "bring your own power" model to sidestep grid bottlenecks. No official Meta announcement or board approval is confirmed.
~US$9B
Total investment (≈C$13B)
~1GW
Data center capacity (≈750,000 households)
33rd
Global site — first in Canada
Alberta's magnet effect
Share of Canada's planned hyperscale data-center facilities located in Alberta.
Alberta targets C$100B in private data-center investment by 2030.
Project Greenlight — Bring Your Own Power
Instead of tapping the grid, Meta would fund an adjacent natural-gas plant to feed the data center directly.
932–970MW
Gas plant capacity
→
~1GW
Powers the data center
→
Llama
Training, inference, IG & FB compute
Plant build cost ~US$4.6B · targeted online late 2030 · room to double later.
Why supporters welcome it
Cheap gas power, cold climate, lighter regulation
~3,000 construction jobs; boosts AI compute capacity
Self-generation sidesteps grid bottlenecks
Why critics worry
Gas reliance conflicts with clean-energy goals
Only ~300 permanent jobs vs 3,000 temporary
Concerns over local grid impact
Timeline: 2–3 years to build the data center · gas plant targeted for the second half of 2030. Talks reported since October 2025 — the plan remains in negotiation and could change.
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