A rendering of Meta’s new 1GW, AI-optimized data center in Alberta, Canada.
Provided by: Meta
Meta‘s AI expansion is heading north of the border.
Meta is building its first data center in Canada, a 1-gigawatt facility in Alberta that will cost Meta about $9 billion and take two to three years to build, the company said in a blog post Wednesday. This is Meta’s 33rd data center overall and the latest in the company’s commitment to rapidly build out to meet demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure and services.
Alberta, in Canada’s western province, is an attractive location for development due to its abundant energy and friendly regulatory environment. The site’s location in Sturgeon County has long been zoned for industrial use and is in an area that allows for the installation of additional energy infrastructure.
“This particular location met the elements we typically look for: easy access to infrastructure, access to a strong power grid and energy, a strong talent pool, and great community partners who helped move this project forward,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
While Meta continues its aggressive AI buildout, it simultaneously plans new cloud computing businesses that could sell excess capacity to third parties or provide access to AI models hosted within its infrastructure. Meta is a leader in AI models such as OpenAI, Anthropic, googlethere is no clear path to making money outside of online advertising.
Meta’s stock price is down about 9% since the beginning of the year, while the Nasdaq is up 11%.
Meta is racing to launch an AI facility, competing with hyperscaler Alphabet. microsoft and Amazonboth have thriving cloud infrastructure businesses.
Local communities also have concerns. A June report from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation highlights environmental issues such as emissions, water consumption and noise from large data centres.
Meta said it is working with various Canadian energy companies, including Greenlight Limited Partnership, Altalink, Capitol Power and Alberta Electric System Operator, to “plan and meet energy needs for years before this data center is operational.”
The project will support more than 3,000 construction workers at its peak and will also include investments in local infrastructure and funding for local nonprofit organizations, the company said.
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