Province pitches tech giants as it leverages natural gas, low taxes, and cold climate for AI growth
Alberta, known for its vast crude reserves, is positioning itself as a hub for artificial intelligence data centres, with ambitions to attract $100bn in investments, according to BNN Bloomberg.
The provincial government plans to introduce legislation, make regulatory changes, and offer new services to encourage technology companies to establish data centres in the region.
The strategy leverages Alberta’s natural advantages, including an abundance of natural gas for power generation, low taxes, and a cold climate that can reduce cooling costs for data centres.
Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish has been actively promoting the province, making four trips to Silicon Valley to meet with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and pitch tech giants such as Apple, Google parent Alphabet, and Facebook parent Meta.
Glubish highlighted Alberta’s focus on efficiency and risk reduction for businesses.
“Time is money, and if we can give people the gift of time, we know that that’s going to have a meaningful impact on their investment decisions and on their return on investment,” he said.
“So, if we can move fast and give people certainty and eliminate risk in the process, folks are going to love doing business in Alberta.”
The government aims to have $100bn worth of data centre infrastructure either completed or under construction within five years.
To facilitate this, it plans to expedite approvals for projects not connected to the provincial power grid, ensuring that new developments do not compromise the reliability or affordability of electricity for residents.
The government also intends to clarify regulations for grid-connected infrastructure early next year.
