Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued a new mandate for the province’s Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf, right, alongside instructions to complete the Alberta’s AI data centre attraction strategy.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Alberta is doubling down on artificial-intelligence data centres as part of a new mandate for Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf, as the province looks to fast-track projects that generate their own electricity to avoid straining the public grid.
Premier Danielle Smith issued the directive Thursday in a mandate letter alongside instructions to complete the province’s AI data centre attraction strategy, which aims to combine an attractive investment environment with stable, affordable electricity and fair returns for Albertans.
The province’s goal is to have $100-billion worth of AI data centres under construction within the next five years.
“We anticipate data centres being a big part of our economy going forward,” Mr. Neudorf said in an interview this week.
A swath of requests for electricity from proposed data centres is in front of the Alberta Electric System Operator, which plans and manages the province’s grid. They are asking the AESO to be connected to more than 20,000 megawatts of electricity – roughly enough to power another Alberta, and then some.
Alberta has a big vision to build massive AI data centres, but do they have the power to handle it?
Mr. Neudorf acknowledged that there will likely be some public pushback to the sprawling set-ups; a plan for a 448-hectare AI data centre complex was rejected last month by the Rocky View County council, just northeast of Calgary, for example.
That’s why it’s important to work with all levels of government when it comes to integrating data centres onto Alberta’s grid, he said.
While regulators will retain the final decision on data centres, he said it’s incumbent on the government to develop strong environmental protections and ensure the public has access to clear information.
Objections will have “a very robust place” in the permitting process, Mr. Neudorf said, but those grievances must be “science-based and fact-based,” not simply frivolous.
By providing clear parameters and responsible environmental guidelines, the government hopes to alleviate the types of complaints often raised about any large development, he said.
“If we do it right and show Albertans that our No. 1 goal is protecting affordability and reliability of their electricity, so that they’re not in any way negatively impacted by additional industrial growth like data centres … they can have faith that the process is robust and appropriate to protect them and their needs.”
Mr. Neudorf’s mandate letter also urges him to complete an overhaul of Alberta’s electricity market aimed at making the system more reliable and affordable – a gargantuan task that has involved a raft of reviews, consultations and legislative and regulatory changes over the past two years.
The restructured market is due to become operational in 2027.
“We’ve got all of the parts and pieces of policy done and decided. Now we’ve just got to build it, so to speak, in terms of hardware and software, so that it can fully operate,” Mr. Neudorf said.
The province will also have to complete various review processes and ensure tariffs and rate classes are appropriate, he said, so that participants can actually use the new system when it goes live.
Mr. Neudorf spoke with The Globe from Helena, Mont., where he was meeting with government officials to discuss ways to enhance grid reliability through electrical interconnections, such as the Montana-Alberta transmission line.
He was also slated to attend a power summit in Bozeman, Mont., to promote Alberta’s electricity market.
Strengthening the electricity relationship between Alberta and Montana – and those with British Columbia and Saskatchewan – is another key part of Mr. Neudorf’s new mandate. That includes exploring more interties to improve the reliability of Alberta’s grid and lower electricity costs.
OpenAI eyes artificial intelligence data-centre capacity in Canada
In 2024, Alberta’s exports of power exceeded its imports for the first time since 2016, according to the Alberta Electric System Operator’s annual market statistics report, continuing a trend of declining import volumes that began in late 2022.
Most of those exports went to B.C., as low water levels affected its hydroelectric generation. A growth in electricity supplies in Alberta also lowered prices, bumping up power exports.
Alberta still imported 21 megawatts of power from Montana in 2024 – more than from B.C. or Saskatchewan – but that was down from 75 MW the year prior.
Mr. Neudorf has also been instructed by Ms. Smith to continue to aggressively fight Ottawa’s Clean Electricity Regulations until they are “abandoned and repealed,” and work with industry to assist with more efficient electricity usage by managing demand.
He is also charged with developing a strategy on how to integrate nuclear power into the province’s grid.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that proposed data centres have asked to be connected to 11,634 megawatts of electricity. Their request is to be connected to more than 20,000 megawatts of electricity.