A new natural gas-fired power plant north of Edmonton is expected to become operational in four years and will supply power to a large data center planned by Meta Platforms Inc. The tech giant anticipates that the $13 billion data center will be up and running within the next two to three years, although an exact timeline has not been confirmed. Meta has secured the right to connect to Alberta’s grid before the Greenlight Electricity Centre becomes operational and may engage with other suppliers if necessary.
Alberta’s grid operator allocated 1,200 megawatts of capacity for significant projects like data centers until 2028 to ensure the province’s electricity system does not become overloaded. 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 set to generate 932 megawatts of power initially, with the potential to double that capacity in the future.
