A rendering of Meta’s new 1GW, AI-optimized data center in Alberta, Canada.
Courtesy: Meta
metaAI expansion is moving north of the border.
The company said in a blog post on Wednesday that it is building its first data center in Canada, a 1-gigawatt facility in the province of Alberta, which will cost about $9 billion and take two to three years to build. It is Meta’s 33rd data center overall and the latest in the company’s effort to rapidly build out artificial intelligence infrastructure and services to meet demand.
Alberta, on the western edge of Canada, represents an attractive location for development due to the province’s abundant amounts of available energy and friendly regulatory environment. The specific location for the site, Sturgeon County, has long been zoned for industrial use and is in an area with potential for additional energy infrastructure.
“This specific location meets the factors we typically look for: good access to infrastructure, a strong electric grid and access to energy, a strong pool of talent and a great group of community partners who helped us move this project forward,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
While Meta continues its aggressive AI buildout, the company is simultaneously planning a new cloud computing business that could include selling excess capacity to third parties or providing access to AI models hosted within its infrastructure. Investors are skeptical of Meta’s forecast of up to $145 billion in capital spending this year as the company lags far behind AI model leaders OpenAI, Anthropic and others. GoogleAnd it hasn’t shown any clear revenue streams other than online ads.
Meta’s stock is down about 9% this year while the Nasdaq is up 11%.
Meta is racing to stand out AI features as it competes with hyperscalers Alphabet, Microsoft And AmazonAll of which have booming cloud infrastructure businesses.
Local communities also have concerns. A June report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation highlighted environmental issues such as emissions, water consumption and noise from large data centres.
Meta said it has worked with various energy firms in Canada, including Greenlight Limited Partnership, Altlink, Capital Power and Alberta Electric System Operator, “to plan and meet our energy needs before this data center comes online.”
The company said the project will support more than 3,000 construction workers at its peak, and will include investments in local infrastructure and funding to local nonprofits.
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