A new natural gas-fired power plant is set to be operational in four years in northern Edmonton to support Meta Platforms Inc.’s upcoming data center. Meta anticipates the $13 billion-plus data center will be operational within the next two to three years, although a specific timeline has not been finalized yet. In the interim, Meta has the authorization to connect to Alberta’s grid before the Greenlight Electricity Centre becomes operational and may form agreements with other suppliers if required.
Last year, Alberta’s grid operator allocated 1,200 megawatts of capacity for large-load projects, such as data centers, until 2028 to ensure the stability of the province’s electrical system. Capital Power recently announced a long-term energy supply contract for the Meta data center, with 250 megawatts of electricity becoming available in the latter part of 2028. The Greenlight Electricity Centre, a joint venture among Pembina Pipeline Corp., Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and Kineticor Asset Management, will generate 932 megawatts of power initially, with potential for future expansion to double that capacity.
