Dozens protest Meta data centre planned for county north of Edmonton

Dozens of people are protesting Meta's plan to construct its first Canadian data center in Sturgeon County, a region north of Edmonton, Alberta. The tech giant, known for Facebook, announced last month its intention to build a massive one-gigawatt data center in Morinville.

Ben Baril, a 20-year-old organizer of the protest, stated that the facility, estimated to cost over $13 billion, will strain Alberta's water supply and energy grid. He also expressed concerns about its future contribution to the climate crisis. Protesters are also voicing broader opposition to data centers across Canada, citing the threat of artificial intelligence expansion to jobs.

Meta has indicated that the data center is expected to be operational within the next two to three years. Alberta's Premier Danielle Smith has stated that the province's grid operator will utilize surplus energy to power the center until a new natural gas-fired plant, the Greenlight Electricity Centre, begins operations in 2030. Pembina Pipeline Corp., Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and Kineticor Asset Management are involved in the development of the Greenlight Electricity Centre.

“

the $13-billion-plus facility will strain Alberta’s water supply and energy grid, and contribute to the climate crisis in the future.