A new natural gas-powered plant is set to begin operations in four years in northern Edmonton, providing energy to support Meta Platforms Inc.’s upcoming data center. Meta’s representative, Stacey Yip, anticipates the $13+ billion data center will be operational within the next two to three years, although an exact timeline is yet to be confirmed. Meta has secured the right to connect to Alberta’s power grid before the Greenlight Electricity Centre becomes operational and may engage with alternate suppliers as necessary.
Last year, Alberta’s grid regulator allocated 1,200 megawatts of capacity for major projects such as data centers until 2028 to prevent strain on the province’s electrical infrastructure. Capital Power recently disclosed a long-term energy supply agreement for the Meta data center, offering 250 megawatts of electricity by the latter half of 2028. The Greenlight Electricity Centre, valued at $4.6 billion and a collaboration between Pembina Pipeline Corp., Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and Kineticor Asset Management, will generate 932 megawatts of power initially, with the potential for future expansion to double its capacity.
