Province tells U.S. firms Alberta wants data centres — but bring your own power
CBC
The provincial government is trying to sell Alberta as a prime location for data centres — buildings that store and process digital information.
Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish made his pitch on a trip to Silicon Valley last week. But the cost of power in Alberta may hinder these ambitious plans, one data centre CEO argues.
Glubish told CBC's Edmonton AM the province's environmental and business conditions are well-suited to the developments.
"We have a cold weather climate, so it's easy to keep these things cool. We have an abundance of energy that we can develop very cheaply and very quickly in a very friendly business environment — and we can do this faster than anywhere else," he said.
He emphasized the province's focus on reducing red tape, and electricity policy that makes building power generation infrastructure easy.
The province asks companies to "bring your own power" and build their own infrastructure — and says projects will get approved in six months or less.
"And in all of the conversations I've had with these folks, they're super excited about the value proposition that Alberta brings to the table," Glubish said.
Glubish was in San Francisco for three days last week as part of a delegation that included representatives from the Alberta Electric System Operator and Invest Alberta.
The trade mission's itinerary included meetings with tech companies Meta, Salesforce, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Bitdeer and Cleantech Group.
Dale Corse, CEO of the Wolfpaw, a data centre which hosts the internet exchange points for Edmonton, says cooler climate is an incentive.
"You see a lot colder weather here even than in Calgary. So the savings on air conditioners is a lot higher here just because of the amount of cold that we get and how long we get it," Corse said.
But for any data centres that want to be a part of the electrical grid, Alberta isn't a feasible choice, he said.
"Not even close … it's very obvious that the power infrastructure in Alberta has not really been kept up to demand."
During a deep freeze last January, Alberta issued four power-grid alerts in four days as demand for electricity outstripped generating capacity. In April, tens of thousands of households lost power as a shortage of electrical generation prompted the AESO to temporarily cut usage.
