Smith attempts to address concerns about AI data centres coming to Alberta

EDMONTON — Premier Danielle Smith attempted to calm concerns about AI data centres on Tuesday, posting a video in which she addressed six common questions about the projects. "The world is going to build these facilities somewhere," said Smith in a video posted on her social media. "The jobs, the revenue, and the opportunity will land somewhere. I say it should land right here." .In July, Meta Platforms announced its intentions to build a $13 billion data centre in Sturgeon County, and while the UCP have touted it as a win for Alberta's economy, it has amplified concerns about the risks that accompany such projects.Members of Sturgeon County gathered on Aug. 2 to protest the project, citing concerns about the massive amount of water typically needed to cool the technology and the large amount of electricity required to power it."Some of you have questions, and some of you have heard stories from other places that have you worry," Smith said. "All of that is fair. So today, I'm going to answer the six questions we hear most often about data centers in Alberta." According to a United Nations report released in June, AI data centres globally will combined by 2030 to need more water than the amount used by 1.3 billion people in Africa. Smith said water concerns are largely based on older data centre models that needed a constant supply, but newer models, such as Meta's, run on a continuous cooling loop that reuses water after it is initially filled. Meta claims its project will use less water annually than a golf course. .Electricity supply and rising utility costs have been another major concern expressed by individuals. The UN report projected that data centres will consume 945 terawatt-hours of electricity by 2030, which is more than the combined annual use of individuals in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria. Once completed, Meta's project is planned to run on a $4.6 billion privately build natural gas pipeline, which the UCP said is an example of their "bring your own power" policy for data centres looking to build in Alberta. Smith said many individuals are hesitant about data centres because of previous examples where projects failed in other jurisdictions. However, she said her government has taken time to learn from the mistakes and ensure that Alberta has the policies and regulations needed to protect Albertans. "We spent two years studying what went wrong in other places, and we wrote 'Made in Alberta' rules to prevent those problems from happening here, and the foundation of our approach is simple: these are 100% private projects, no subsidies, no grants, no discounted power, no taxpayer backstop," Smith said."If a project succeeds, Albertans share in the benefits. If it fails, the investors lose the money, not you.".Minister of Technology and Innovation has compared data centres to a digital refinery for Alberta's natural gas. In a recent interview with the Western Standard, Glubish said the resources are turned into electricity used to fuel the powerful computers, which then creates information to export around the world. The UCP claims that Meta's project will create 3,000 new jobs in Alberta during construction, and 300 permanent jobs at the data centre once it is operational, and thousands of additional jobs in industries benefiting from the facility's exports. "So here is the bottom line, Alberta," Smith said. "Other places rushed in, but we took the time to do this right." "We built a clear, competitive, and fair set of rules that make sure Albertans benefit from every one of these projects, and we back it all up with some of the strongest environmental protections in North America."

Smith attempts to address concerns about AI data centres coming to Alberta

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