Largest AI data centre in the world to be built in northwest Alberta

The world's largest Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centre will be built in northwest Alberta and comes with an estimated $70 billion price tag.

Known as Wonder Valley, the data centre will be built in the Municipal District of Greenview, which encompasses areas to the south and east of Grande Prairie.

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News Edmonton, right at your fingertips

Wonder Valley will be located mostly in the Greenview Industrial Gateway (GIG), a heavy eco-industrial district within the municipal district.

The project is happening in cooperation between the municipal district and O'Leary Ventures, headed by Canadian millionaire Kevin O'Leary.

So far, a letter of intent was signed between the GIG and O'Leary Ventures for the purchase and development of thousands of acres in and south of the GIG for the project.

"This is more than just an investment in land; it’s an investment in the future of innovation and economic expansion for Canada," said Tyler Olsen, the reeve of the MD of Greenview.

"We’re excited to take this step forward, creating lasting benefits not only for our Municipality but for the surrounding communities, and the country as a whole."

According to O'Leary, the MD of Greenview is "the most compelling site in all North America to generate and offer 7.5 GW of low-cost power to hyperscalers over the next five-10 years.

Hyperscalers are large-scale data centres that can provide cloud computing and data solutions.

The difference between hyperscalers and regular data centres is the ability to dynamically scale to meet demand. They use distributed computer systems, which split tasks across multiple machines to process high volumes of data.

"We will engineer and build a redundant power solution that meets the modern AI compute reliability standards," O'Leary said.

The project is set to be rolled out in phases. Phase 1 would see 1.4 gigawatts of power generated, with an aim for an additional one gigawatt generated each year afterwards.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, one gigawatt is equivalent to the energy generated by 294 utility-scale wind turbines, 1.887 million photovoltaic panels or 1.3 million horses.

In 2023, Canada had an electricity generation capacity of 152.71 gigawatts, according to Statista.

Phase 1 is estimated to cost around $2.8 billion, according to O'Leary.

The total lifetime investment is estimated at more than $70 billion, between infrastructure, power, data centres and ancillary structures.

Due to the site's proximity to sources of natural gas, pipeline infrastructure, water and a fiber optic network, it is expected to be up and running "sooner than any scale project of its kind," according to O'Leary.

"Beyond jobs and financial benefits, this venture promises to establish Alberta and Canada as world leaders and as a center of excellence in this emerging industry," O'Leary Ventures wrote in a news release.

O'Leary is known for his role on the popular shows Dragon's Den and Shark Tank. He also ran in the 2017 federal conservative leadership race, but eventually dropped out.