Pembina approves Alberta energy project linked to major data centre development

Pembina Pipeline announced on Thursday that it would'move forward with its planned C$4.6 Billion ($3.24 Billion) Greenlight Electricity Centre in Alberta. The project will 'power the development of a major data centre for an unnamed client.

The Calgary-based company, Calgary Pipeline Company, announced that it had made a final investment decision in the Greenlight Project. This project is a natural gas-fired 932-megawatt power-generation plant to be located in Sturgeon County.

Pembina, which is partnering with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Kineticor Asset Management, did not reveal the name of the customer who will build the centre. However, they said that it will be the first data center in Canada.

Pembina stated in a press release that "rapid growth in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing are driving durable global demand for data center capacity. Alberta has established itself as an attractive jurisdiction to attract significant investment."

Canada has five data centers that are currently operating at the "hyperscale" level. This means they require at least 50 Megawatts of electrical capacity. That's the equivalent of the energy needs of a small town. In Canada, nearly 100 hyperscale data centers are currently in development. Nearly 90% of these are located in Alberta. Alberta has been promoting its cheap natural gas reserves in an attempt to entice tech companies, such as U.S. hyperscalers.

Pembina has already signed a long-term?tolling agreement with its customer and expects that the project will be completed by late 2030.

The company stated that the project would require 150?million cubic feet of natural gas per day, helping to create demand for Western Canadian gas producers.

(source: Reuters)