A new natural gas-fired power plant is set to be operational in four years north of Edmonton, providing power to Meta Platforms Inc.’s upcoming data center. Meta anticipates the data center, costing over $13 billion, will be operational within the next two to three years, although a specific timeline has not been finalized. In the interim, Meta has the authorization to connect to Alberta’s grid in advance of the Greenlight Electricity Centre commencing operations and may engage with other suppliers if necessary.
To support large-load projects such as data centers until 2028 and prevent strain on the province’s electrical system, Alberta’s grid operator has allocated 1,200 megawatts of capacity. Capital Power recently revealed a long-term energy supply agreement for the Meta data center, providing 250 megawatts of electricity by the latter half of 2028.
The Greenlight Electricity Centre, a joint venture involving Pembina Pipeline Corp., Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and Kineticor Asset Management, is expected to generate 932 megawatts of power initially, with the potential to double that capacity in the future.