Pembina Pipeline Corp., along with partners Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor Asset Management, has approved the establishment of the Greenlight Electricity Centre, a natural gas facility designed to cater to a data center client. The project is estimated to cost $4.6 billion and will involve the construction of a 932-megawatt plant in Sturgeon County, which is situated in Alberta’s Industrial Heartland region to the north of Edmonton. The anticipated launch is set for the latter half of 2030, and the consortium holds permits that would enable them to potentially double the plant’s capacity in the future.
Data centers, essential for supporting various technological applications, have witnessed significant growth alongside advancements in artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Although the specific data center client was not disclosed by the province and the involved companies, Alberta has actively been pursuing hyperscale developers like Meta and Google to establish operations within its borders. However, due to the current limitations of the electricity grid in accommodating multiple large projects, Alberta is focusing on initiatives where projects either construct or secure their own power generation capabilities.
Premier Danielle Smith emphasized the significance of the Greenlight Electricity Centre as a model reflecting this strategy during a recent press briefing. She highlighted that by requiring data centers to provide their own power generation infrastructure, the framework is structured to reduce transmission costs on utility bills in Alberta.
Scott Burrows, CEO of Pembina, commended Alberta’s efforts in fostering an environment conducive to projects such as Greenlight. He emphasized that the province’s emphasis on competitiveness, attracting investments, and advancing energy initiatives has positioned Alberta as an attractive hub for significant industries and sustained growth.
Despite concerns raised by some communities in Canada and the United States regarding pollution and noise related to data center developments, particularly those with gas plant elements, Premier Smith assured that the Greenlight project would be situated in an area with a long history of accepting industrial developments, with the closest residential area located several kilometers away from the planned natural gas facility.
In response to the project, the Pembina Institute, an independent clean-energy research organization not affiliated with the energy sector, expressed disappointment in the decision to rely on gas-fired power for the Greenlight Energy Centre. The institute stated that the “bring your own generation” policy in Alberta limits data centers to using gas-fired power, excluding other potentially more cost-effective renewable energy sources. David Pickup, overseeing the institute’s electricity program, suggested that while a project like Greenlight may not solely rely on renewable energy, a diversified energy mix could help mitigate environmental impacts and lower costs associated with gas-powered generation.
