County north of Edmonton approved to host energy generator for potential AI data centre

A new power plant north of Edmonton has been approved to provide electricity for a potential AI data centre.

A power plant north of Edmonton has been approved to provide electricity to a potential artificial intelligence data centre.

Premier Danielle Smith announced the Greenlight Electricity Centre in Calgary on Thursday afternoon, hours before an inter-provincial pipeline press conference.

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline, Morgan Stanley and Kineticor are involved in the joint venture.

The plant is set to be built in Sturgeon County in an area Smith says is 35 kilometres north of Edmonton. Natural gas will generate the electricity in the more than $4.5 billion project.

“When operational, the facility will also result in tens of millions of dollars in royalties for the province from the natural gas used to power it, which, of course, is used to fund the critical services that Albertans rely on every day,” Smith told reporters.

The project is the result of Alberta’s Bring Your Own Power, a.k.a. BYOP, policy, which requires data centres to provide their own source of electricity to limit stress on the grid.

“The global race for computing power is ramping up like never before, driven by demand for artificial intelligence and data centres,” Smith said Thursday. “This represents tremendous opportunity, but also significant pressure on existing power grids.”

Greenlight would supply 932 megawatts to a new data centre.

The project is a direct result of a fall 2025 memorandum of understanding that removed clean electricity regulations, she added.

Alberta affordability and utilities minister RJ Sigurdson says the project sets Albertans up for “long-term transmission cost reductions in their utility bills.” CTV News has reached out to the ministry for clarification on whether Albertans’ utility bills would actively decrease.

“For everyday Albertans, (BYOP) means we are protecting and prioritizing the reliability of the electricity they depend on … ensuring that ratepayers are not on the hook for requiring grid updates,” he said.

Smith assured Sturgeon County residents that the closest home is “some kilometres” away from where the natural gas plant is planned.

Kineticor CEO Andrew Plant says the three companies expect phase one of the project, which includes breaking ground, to be complete and ready for power generation in 2029.

The company proposing the data centre has not yet been announced.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Noah Rishaug