Alberta Technology Minister Nate Glubish predicted two weeks ago at the Global Energy Show that the province could see massive gigawatt-scale data centre announcements rolled out later this summer. Now, signs are emerging that this may happen sooner, potentially involving a large hyperscaler and billions of dollars of investment.
Regulatory Approvals and Project Greenlight
On June 20, 2026, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) approved an application by Greenlight Electricity Centre GP to build and operate a 1,864-megawatt (MW) power-generation facility in Sturgeon County, about 35 kilometres north of Edmonton. The AUC decision states the plant will supply electric power to the province and to data centres.
Two days earlier, the provincial government passed an order-in-council allowing a little-known company to acquire lands in Sturgeon County for the purpose of constructing or operating a natural gas-fired turbine electricity generation plant to operate an adjacent data centre. A provincial cabinet minister confirmed Monday that this is connected to Project Greenlight, a proposed power generation development that could help provide electricity to data centres.
Final Investment Decision Imminent
Pembina Pipeline Corp. had targeted a final investment decision (FID) on Project Greenlight by the end of June. Speaking on the sidelines of an energy conference earlier this month, Pembina Pipeline CEO Scott Burrows confirmed the expected timing. “We’re seeing lots of momentum in the space,” he told reporters. “We’d be looking to FID our Greenlight electricity centre near the end of the second quarter.”
Pembina is working on the development with its partner, Kineticor Asset Management. The two Calgary-based firms have previously discussed the proposed project in Sturgeon County, with a power generating capacity of up to about 1,800 MW, or 1.8 GW.
Potential Hyperscaler Involvement
Previous reports have linked the project to a potential data centre for Meta, owner of Facebook. A January report by TD Securities analyst Michael Elias said Meta plans on building a gigawatt-plus data centre in Edmonton that could scale up to as much as six GW. While officials with Meta, Pembina, and Kineticor did not respond to requests for comment, the province’s lobbyist registry indicates Facebook Canada has consultants seeking to engage the government of Alberta on law and policy governing the development of facilities for advanced computing.
Sturgeon County Mayor Alanna Hnatiw highlighted the region's appeal: “We didn’t even look for data centres — those site selectors search the world to find the right places, and they found us.”
Broader Economic Context
Alberta's push to attract data centres is part of a broader strategy to draw in $100 billion of capital investment in the sector by 2030. The province's competitive advantages include low electricity costs, a skilled workforce, and a business-friendly regulatory environment. The approval of the Greenlight power plant is seen as a critical step in providing the reliable, low-cost energy needed to power large-scale data centres.
As these pieces come together, Alberta appears poised to become a major hub for data centre development in North America, with potential announcements in the coming weeks that could reshape the province's economic landscape.
