Smith says Alberta’s energy advantage crucial for AI data centres, global demand

CALGARY — Premier Danielle Smith has said Alberta’s energy advantage will become increasingly crucial as artificial intelligence (AI) drives soaring global demand for reliable power in the near future.Speaking at a recent EnergyNow Insights event in Calgary, the premier said the rapid expansion of AI is forcing governments and the energy sector to confront hard realities about electricity supplies.“When you start looking at what is the most feasible way to roll out large-scale power to fuel AI data centres with redundancy, you’re talking about natural gas backed up by batteries, backed up by diesel,” Smith said, adding that AI data centres require constant, uninterrupted power at massive scale — something intermittent renewable sources cannot yet provide on their own.“The chain that makes the most sense is still relying on traditional fuels,” she stated.Smith also said Alberta has stepped up its advocacy with the United States to reinforce the province’s role as a critical energy supplier going forward..Alberta introduces new levy framework for AI data centres .“We’ve been doing a lot of our own advocacy with the United States, because the Americans thought their biggest supplier was Saudi Arabia. We surpassed them in 2014, and the Americans didn’t even know,” Smith said.“Part of what we needed to do, especially with the change in leadership, was to work with our allies — the recipients of our Alberta oil. There are a lot of refineries that get 100% of their supply from us. If they didn’t get it from us, you’d be talking about shutting down refineries and having gas shortages.”Smith’s comments come as Alberta looks to host new AI infrastructure, including what could become Canada’s largest data centre.Last week, Synapse Data Center announced plans for a one-gigawatt data centre in Olds.The proposed facility — which would be significantly larger than any existing data centre in the country — represents a $10-billion private-sector investment over two years and is expected to create thousands of jobs, ranging from construction to advanced technology roles.At the time, Jason van Gaal, chief executive officer of Synapse Data Center, said Olds was “a strategic location between Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer that provides unparalleled access to a skilled workforce and robust supply chains.”.Alberta unveils strategy to attract AI data centres, drive economic growth .Smith linked the project, and others like it, directly to Alberta’s broader ambition to be a global energy leader, arguing that oil and gas — particularly natural gas — are increasingly being recognized not merely as transition fuels, but as foundational ones.The project is proposed to be powered by a closed-cycle natural gas system designed to achieve low emissions.The premier cited conversations at a recent international AI conference in the United Arab Emirates as underscoring the current energy challenge — while nuclear power is a clean option, it has a development timeframe of roughly ten years.Hydroelectricity also faces long timelines and is not available everywhere due to geographical constraints, while wind and solar power — with approximately 10% and 30% intermittency — are not viable on their own, as AI systems require 100% stability.

Smith says Alberta’s energy advantage crucial for AI data centres, global demand

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