EDMONTON — Alberta cabinet ministers tried to reassure municipal leaders on Friday about the UCP government's AI data centre strategy, which the Association of Alberta Municipalities president says is a delayed but positive development. AI data centres dominated Alberta political discussions throughout the summer, as municipalities raised concerns about the UCP government's open call for proponents to build facilities in Alberta. "I see this as a great opportunity," said Minister of Affordability and Utilities RJ Sigurdson during a cabinet roundtable at the ABmunis convention on Friday. "We're constrained to build pipelines.” "We talk about it in agriculture all the time: value added to take our natural resources, upgrade it into electricity, and then again into data that we can export to every corner of the world. It's double value added." .Some Albertans are not as eager. Individuals often cite negative experiences from other jurisdictions and raise concerns about the water needed to cool the facilities, potential rises in utility costs, noise and light pollution, and data sovereignty. The UCP claims it spent months studying examples from other jurisdictions, consulted with industry experts both internationally and in Alberta, and created policies and frameworks it claims will protect Albertans. Their struggle, however, has been conveying their strategy and speaking with concerned citizens. The UCP conducted multiple town halls across Alberta to speak with Albertans, but Friday was their chance to address municipal leaders. Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish said individuals are right to look at other examples and have concerns, but they are products of "poorly executed projects" and bad policies. "We studied that over the last few years, and we said, look, we see an opportunity for Alberta if we try to specify and create these jobs and bring new tax revenues, both municipally and provincially, but it has to be done the right way," Glubish said. .The minister pointed to Meta's planned data centre in a Sturgeon County heavy industrial zone and contrasted it with a recently rejected power plant to supply a proposed facility in Olds. Glubish said Meta's project demonstrates that data centres can be built in safe locations, and the Olds example showed how the regulatory process protects Albertans. "I believe strongly we have the best regulatory framework here in Alberta that both creates certainty for industry, but it also protects the priorities that Albertans care most about," Glubish said. He pointed to requirements for projects to bring their own power and pay for any costs associated with their temporary, limited access to Alberta's energy grid. Glubish also said that water concerns largely stem from outdated technology, and new cooling systems reuse water. .ABmunis President Dylan Bressey said it is encouraging to see the Alberta government communicating "good information" with municipalities, but he wishes it had come before local governments were forced to make decisions. "I know the province has been putting work into both communication and policy around this, so it is improving, but this is a very high priority," said Bressey. "We do need to make sure the councils get that information early, so that they can be informed in their decision-making as well as help the residents understand what's going on.".Minister of Municipal Affairs Dan Williams echoed the importance of government in setting the rules that will govern Alberta's AI data centre industry."We don't expect to see that big tech will always make the right decision for us," said Williams. "But you know who can, and should make the right decision: a democratically elected conservative government that's responsive to the interests of every single community in this room.""Which is why we must regulate, regulate in our interest, regulate our water, our power generation, stability of the grid, and make sure that always we're putting your interest, your community, and our problems first."
