Meta has announced plans to build its first data centre in Canada, marking the company’s 33rd data centre globally. In an official newsroom post, the social media giant said that it will build a 1GW data centre in Sturgeon County, Alberta. The facility will be designed to support Meta’s growing artificial intelligence (AI) workloads. The company said it will invest more than CAD $13 billion in the project. Once completed, the data centre is expected to create around 3,000 construction jobs at peak construction and more than 300 permanent operational jobs. Meta said the facility will power AI technologies used across its aapps, business tools and wearable devices.
Meta to fund local infrastructure and use renewable energy
Meta said it will invest about CAD $60 million in local infrastructure, including road and water improvements in Sturgeon County. The company will also launch its annual Data Center Community Action Grants programme in the region to support local non-profit organisations.“We’re also investing approximately CAD $60 million in local infrastructure improvements that will benefit the local community, including roads and water infrastructure, and will launch our annual Data Center Community Action Grants in the region, providing direct funding for local nonprofits that support the community,” Meta said in its newsroom.The company said it has worked with Greenlight Limited Partnership, AltaLink, Capital Power and the Alberta Electric System Operator to prepare for the project’s electricity needs.According to Meta, it will fully fund the new power generation and grid infrastructure needed for the data centre, adding that consumers will not bear the cost of its electricity use.”As with all of our data centers, this data center’s electricity use will be matched with 100% clean and renewable energy,” the company said.
Data centre designed to reduce water use
Meta said the Alberta facility will use a closed-loop, liquid-cooled system with dry cooling, which means the cooling system will not require operational water. The company said water use at the site will mainly be limited to domestic needs, fire protection and equipment maintenance.Meta added that it pays the full cost of water and wastewater services used by its data centres and aims to become water positive by 2030, meaning it plans to restore more water than it consumes across its global operations.“We’re excited to call Sturgeon County home for our newest data center, and look forward to working with and contributing positively to the local community,” Meta said.