'EASIER TO EXPORT ZEROS AND ONES': Smith calls AI data centres a new type of refinery

BANFF — Premier Danielle Smith says large-scale AI data centres could be viewed as a new type of refinery that converts Alberta’s natural gas into electricity and ultimately into exportable “intelligence.”During a panel discussion with Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and former Alberta environment minister Rebecca Schultz on Thursday, Smith told the audience data centres could be a new option for processing Alberta’s energy resources domestically — in this case, natural gas — without requiring the construction of additional export infrastructure such as pipelines.“[AI data centres are] just a different type of refinery,” Smith said.“You're taking natural gas, you're turning it into electricity, you're turning it into intelligence.”Smith pointed to Sturgeon County, northeast of Edmonton, which is expected to host a $13-billion data centre project planned by tech giant Meta, as a prime example of the potential of these new AI projects.When completed, the project would be the largest of its kind in Canada and would include a $4.6-billion gas-fired electricity generation plant being built by Calgary-based project partners Pembina Pipeline Corp. and Kineticor Asset Management LP..UPDATED: Alberta regulator rejects $10-billion power plant for proposed AI data centre near Olds.At its expanded capacity, the data centre could consume as much electricity as roughly 800,000 homes.However, despite Smith’s government aggressively courting AI data-centre investment and saying its goal is to attract $100 billion by the turn of the decade, many opponents have begun speaking up in recent months, raising concerns about the government’s ability to control environmental risks, water usage and energy costs associated with the centres.Recently, one of the proposed data centres was dealt a blow when the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) rejected a natural gas power plant for a proposed $10-billion data centre project near Olds on August 17, saying the site was unsuitable for a development of that scale and too close to nearby homes.Smith has placed data centres within a broader strategy of processing Alberta’s resources closer to home instead of exporting raw commodities to be upgraded elsewhere, but she cautioned against governments attempting to build and operate refineries or data centres themselves. She said her government would instead continue to look for private-sector investment.The premier’s comments come as her government is currently working with roughly 25 data centre proponents on approximately 50 potential project sites.“It seems to be a lot easier to export zeros and ones than it is to build new pipelines to export natural gas,” Smith told the audience.

'EASIER TO EXPORT ZEROS AND ONES': Smith calls AI data centres a new type of refinery

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