Big Tech joins Calgary Stampede as Canada courts data centers

Big Tech joined the party at the Calgary Stampede, an indication of the growing interest of hyperscalers based in the U.S. in?Canada as the province Alberta pursues data center development.

The annual energy gathering, which coincides with the famous city rodeo, is usually dominated by oil and gas companies. This year, U.S. tech giants are also a prominent corporate presence, according to attendees.

Google, a subsidiary of Alphabet, has been the company that is most visible. It sponsored Stampede in the past two years. The company held a private event on Sunday at the Corona Skydeck - an exclusive rooftop patio with a view of the Stampede grounds. It could accommodate 300 guests.

According to a reliable source, the party was attended by politicians from both federal and provincial governments, as well as government employees.

Google confirmed to a spokesperson that this year's Calgary Stampede saw the biggest presence of the company ever.

Two sources claim that?other tech companies, including Meta?and Amazon?, also attended events and meetings in Stampede. A request for comment was not answered by either company. Alberta is promoting its abundant and cheap natural gas to attract C$100 Billion in data center investments. The province's climate and affordable power could be attractive to U.S. hyperscalers who are facing power shortages and community opposition at home. Alberta's government announced that it will announce a major investment in the province’s technology and artificial-intelligence sector on Wednesday. The Alberta government did not provide any additional information, but the province's Technology Minister, Nate Glubish, had previously stated that Alberta was in discussions with "multiple" tech companies who were "searching for jurisdictions that could connect them to the grid quickly."

Alberta also offers proponents an option to build their power sources themselves?to avoid limitations on power capacity.

Although the province has not yet built any hyperscale data centers (requiring 50 megawatts of power or more), nearly 100 have been planned and at least one large-scale facility is in the works. Pembina Pipeline announced last week that it would 'go ahead with the planned C$4.6billion ($3.24billion) Greenlight Electricity Centre, in central Alberta. This 932-megawatt, natural gas-fired facility will power a major data centre for an unnamed customer. (Reporting and editing by Caroline Stauffer in Calgary, David Gaffen, and Amanda Stephenson)

(source: Reuters)