Commentary
The global race to build data centres for artificial intelligence is on. Demand for AI computing is growing at an astronomical rate, and data processing facilities are scrambling to keep up.
Canada, and Alberta in particular, are excellently placed to take advantage of this latest tech boom for several reasons. Opposition to the construction of data centres has reached a fever pitch in some areas, and local governments have been responding by cancelling the projects.
Misunderstanding about these centres could lead to a lost opportunity for Canada, and a gain for Canada’s adversaries.
There are valid concerns to be addressed with these large projects. The massive amount of energy consumption is one of them. In some American regions, data centres were constructed that tapped into the local power grid. That led to energy instability and some local price spikes in electricity costs. In Alberta, however, proposed data centres must utilize a “bring-your-own-power” model. They can’t use existing power generation infrastructure and must construct their own. With the abundant supply of natural gas in Alberta and self-generation models, data centres will be self-contained and won’t impact local power prices….