Meta deploys data center in Canada.
On Wednesday, the company announced the start of construction on a new AI computing center in Sturgeon County, Alberta, outside Edmonton. The facility is an investment of more than C$13 billion (approximately $9 billion) and is planned as a 1 gigawatt data center, the company said in a press release.
This will be Meta’s first data center in Japan.
“This data center is optimized for AI workloads and will help power the technology billions of people around the world use to connect, find community, grow their businesses, and experience the power of wearables,” Mehta said.
The facility will be Meta’s 33rd data center worldwide. Meta said it expects the project to support more than 3,000 construction workers at its peak and more than 300 “operational jobs” once completed. The company also announced it will spend approximately C$60 million (approximately $42 million) on local infrastructure improvements.
Mehta did not disclose the square footage or square footage of the Sturgeon County campus. According to the company, the facility will use a “closed-loop liquid cooling system with dry cooling,” meaning it is designed to avoid the need for a continuous water supply for cooling.
A Meta spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, Sturgeon County Mayor Alana Natiu hailed the new facility as a positive development for the region, bringing jobs and “long-term tax revenue.”
“I’m excited to work with our new neighbors to make that vision a reality,” the mayor said.
Meta said it has 28 data centers in the United States, including a large Richland Parish site in Louisiana.
The Louisiana data center campus will be Meta’s largest facility to date, spanning 4 million square feet and offering more than 2 gigawatts of computing power.