The Alberta government is working with around 25 advocates on approximately 50 potential AI data centre sites, a number that changes as proposals come and go.
The government is seeking to convince Albertans that the growth of AI data centres can be managed without putting the risks and costs on communities after swiftly attracting investors prior to public consultation.
According to sources in City Hall, Calgary does not have compatible zoning for hyper-scale data centres.
However, several AI data centres have either been proposed or are being built in nearby rural municipalities, which could increase regional power demand. Interest from developers has steadily moved far beyond what Alberta’s energy grid can absorb at once.
This is why the provincial government will be prioritizing building data centres that connect to their own power generation, such as on-site natural gas power plants, rather than connecting to Alberta’s electricity grid.
If these proposed data centres are to connect to Alberta’s power grid, they must follow regulations and capacity caps set out by the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). The AESO is the independent, non-profit organization in charge of managing the safety and reliability of Alberta’s power grid and energy markets.
According to the Government of Alberta web page titled, AI Data Centres in Alberta and under the Power Bill page, it states that data centres will pay for their own electricity, connections and infrastructure, with private dollars being used at no cost to Albertans.
In recent town halls held by the provincial government, people have raised concerns about the AI data centre’s impacts on the energy grid, and Albertan’s utility bills.
Regulations currently allow for large projects to rely on the public grid before building their own private gas plants. This could inflate wholesale electricity rates and household utility costs for students and other Calgary residents.
The AESO’s connection list is a monthly publication that tracks major load projects.
On July 30, 2026, AESO researched how much new load the existing grid could safely serve, setting an interim limit of 1,200 megawatts (MW). That interim room is now fully taken up.
This interim stage is part of Phase 1, with the AESO finalizing the permanent framework, known as Phase 2, which will set long-term rules for how much can connect as the system grows, and what investors must contribute.
According to the Alberta government’s website, companies have requested approximately 19,565 MW of new data centre load, a figure that moves every quarter.
For reference, the most power the entire province has ever used in a single hour is approximately 12,800 MW.
Another concern is noise pollution, with these data centres cooling units and power generators operating continuously at high volumes.
According to a virtual province-wide town hall held on August 27, the provincial government is considering mandatory setback rules to keep these data centers further from residential zones, as well as a noise limit of 40 dB at night. The setback rules follow the cancellation of the Synapse Real Estate Corp. data centre, which came after the community raised concerns about its proximity to residential areas and noise levels.
The Gauntlet reached out for a comment from Ward 11 Councillor Rob Ward.
“Calgary taxpayers and Alberta ratepayers should not be subsidizing the infrastructure required to power massive private data centers,” wrote Ward. “If a large data center were proposed within Calgary, I would expect the developer to be responsible for infrastructure costs created by its electricity demand.”
“There can be significant economic benefits from this type of investment, but those benefits should not come at the expense of higher utility costs for Calgarians,” Ward concluded.
If a data centre needs to connect to the grid and needs a certain amount of electricity supply, then utilities must consider that draw on their power in their investment plans for the distribution grid.
Another frequent concern is the potential strain on water resources from cooling down the heat generated by continuous server operations.
“Not all data centers require enormous amounts of water. Newer facilities can use closed-loop or air-based cooling systems that dramatically reduce ongoing water consumption,” Ward explained.
While both closed-loop and air-based cooling systems use minimal water compared to open-circuit cooling systems, they can also increase electricity consumption.
“Given Calgary's circumstances, I would expect any proposal to demonstrate that it can operate without placing an unreasonable additional burden on our potable water system,” Ward stated.
“Alberta's colder climate also provides an advantage for data centers because it can reduce the energy required for cooling. For both water and electricity, it would need to be proven that it would not strain the rest of the city for me to even consider approving it,” Ward concluded.
While Calgary doesn’t have hyper-scale AI data centres, there are manufacturing facilities in the city such as CoolIT which specialize in the production of liquid cooling systems for data centres.
CoolIT builds coldplates, which are sheets of thinly sliced metal that sit on computer processors, absorbing heat and allowing liquid to pass through them to keep the components from overheating. The company is working with several AI data centre projects in Alberta, as well as hearing interest from across Canada and around the world. CoolIT has increased their workforce from 650 people earlier this year, to approximately 900 to meet the growing demands of AI.
As the provincial government races to position itself as a hub for the AI industry, the province is still working out how to regulate AI data centers without passing the cost of that growth onto Albertans.
