In this article:
- What is the Greenlight Electricity Centre
- How the Greenlight Electricity Centre will generate electricity
- The cost, timeline, and economic impact of Greenlight
- Concerns raised by Albertans
All eyes are on Sturgeon County: a new power plant facility is targeted to start operating by 2031, according to the AUC website.
The Greenlight Electricity Centre will occupy 98 acres of private land near Gibbons in the Industrial Heartland zone of the province. The site was already zoned for a large-scale industrial facility; however, until recently, the county still looked for projects that would diversify its economy.
According to plans, the Greenlight Electricity Centre will be a 1,864-megawatt facility run by a combined-cycle natural gas generation system. Expected to be completed in two stages, the facility will be in operation for at least 40 years and will employ at least 1,000 workers during development and construction periods. (As to long-term contracts, that number reduces to 30 skilled positions.)
While it is alarming to many Albertans how rapidly data centre proposals reach the province and receive government consideration, compared to the rest of Canada, we wanted to discover what Greenlight Electricity Centre will be like, how it will operate, and how it will affect residents.
The Cost of Greenlight Electricity Centre
The turning point in the province’s decision to attract data centre developers and investors happened around 2024 when the AESO (Alberta Electric System Operator) received several applications to connect to the transmission system (representing approximately 2 gigawatts of potential new demand).
Although such proposals offered the province new prospects for economic development, it is also undeniable that AI-focused data centres require major investments and substantial amounts of electricity and natural resources.
For example, as was revealed about the Greenlight Electricity Centre, the cost of the project will be around $4.6 billion. If the project moves forward, proceeds with securing data centre customers, and begins operations, the Greenlight Electricity Centre will become one of the significant investments supporting Alberta’s $100-billion AI investment target announced by the provincial government.
Phased Expansion of Greenlight Electricity Centre
1. Regulatory approvals and project purpose
The Greenlight Electricity Centre has received its major regulatory approvals, including approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC). According to the AUC, the electricity produced by the facility will be exported to the Alberta Interconnected Electric System (AIES). The exported electricity will supply both the provincial grid and a large AI data centre.
According to Danielle Smith, by using such a method of energy generation, the project will align with Alberta’s Bring Your Own Power (BYOP) approach, under which large electricity users are expected to arrange their own electricity generation or supply solutions rather than relying solely on the provincial grid.
2. Project design and phased expansion
The facility is planned as a phased combined-cycle natural gas generating station. The first phase will generate approximately 932 MW, while the site has been designed to expand to a permitted capacity of 1,864 MW. The AUC approval describes the project as a two-phase development, with the full build-out reaching the approved capacity.
(AUC filings outline a modular expansion of approximately 466 MW, with full development predicted by 2031.)
3. Technology and supporting infrastructure
Greenlight will use combined-cycle technology that captures waste heat from natural gas turbines to generate additional electricity through steam turbines, improving overall efficiency.
The first phase will include:
- Two Siemens Energy SGT6-8000H gas turbines, two SST6-5000 KN steam turbines, and two SGen6-3000W generators supplied under a fixed-price agreement with Siemens Energy, together with a long-term service agreement.
- Plans also include transmission interconnection, a new switchyard, fuel gas infrastructure, air-cooled condensers, and supporting systems. The facility is also designed to accommodate future carbon capture technology.
4. Energy supply and commercial agreements
Greenlight and potential AI data centre customers would sign a long-term Electrical Energy Supply Agreement under which the facility will dedicate its full 932 MW of generating capacity through a contracted power supply.
As we also discussed in “Why Does AI Use So Much Electricity?”: “AI, especially generative AI, uses much more energy than most people would assume. Training a large language model like OpenAI’s GPT-3, for example, uses nearly 1,300 megawatt-hours (MWh) of electricity, the annual consumption of about 130 US homes.”
When it comes to Greenlight Electricity Center, according to Pembina Pipeline Corporation (the project developer/owner partner involved with the Greenlight Electricity Centre) (LINK), the plant will require approximately 150 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, with long-term transportation capacity and other commercial agreements.
5. Construction and financing
Beyond the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract, the project is being developed by Greenlight Electricity Centre Limited Partnership, a partnership between Pembina Pipeline Corporation, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, and Kineticor Asset Management. Construction will be carried out through the EPC contractors.
Approximately 85% of project costs have already been secured under fixed-price agreements, including the EPC contract and Siemens Energy equipment package. The remaining financing would combine borrowed capital with investor equity.
Concerns raised by residents
Whenever large AI data centres have been proposed, residents have raised concerns about potential increases in electricity rates, high water consumption, government incentives, the absence of comprehensive environmental assessments, impacts on local taxes, and whether the projects will generate meaningful long-term economic benefits and stable work opportunities.
Some experts have also argued that Alberta needs a clearer understanding of the cumulative environmental impacts as large-scale data centre and power plant proposals like Greenlight Electricity Centre continue to emerge across the province.
How these concerns are being addressed
When we researched whether Alberta can handle new data centres, we mentioned that: “To regulate and support the growth of the technology sector, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) has implemented a temporary limit on the number of new data centres added to the electrical grid to avoid unprecedented overload. Overall, AESO has been inundated with proposed projects for new data centres, where 29 of them would demand more than 16 gigawatts combined.”
Of course, the Alberta government maintains that its Bring Your Own Power (BYOP) framework is designed to protect the reliability and affordability of the provincial electricity system by requiring data centre developers to build and finance their own electricity generation and associated infrastructure.
According to Premier Danielle Smith, this approach should reduce future transmission costs for Albertans rather than shifting infrastructure costs onto ratepayers.
However, some energy experts question whether additional natural gas generation could still place upward pressure on electricity prices over time, arguing that the long-term impacts on both energy costs and the environment remain uncertain.
Conclusion
The Greenlight Electricity Centre represents more than another power plant or another AI data centre project. It is one of the first large-scale tests of Alberta’s Bring Your Own Power strategy.
However, the question remains whether, with a capacity of 932 MW and a projected cost of $4.6 billion, the project will withstand that test and support the scale of infrastructure required to advance next-generation artificial intelligence.
It also signals a broader shift in how provinces are approaching economic development: access to reliable electricity has become as important as digital connectivity.
While supporters argue that dedicated generation can protect ratepayers, strengthen grid reliability, and attract private investment, critics question whether higher fuel demand, increased natural gas generation, and cumulative environmental impacts could create long-term impacts on the province’s land and its residents. Ultimately, Greenlight may become the benchmark against which future AI infrastructure projects in Canada are evaluated.
Whether Alberta succeeds in becoming the largest hub for data centres in North America will depend on its ability to attract investment and create the environment in which digital infrastructure expansion coexists with affordable electricity, reliable grid operations, and public confidence.
The first major test of Alberta’s infrastructure is the Meta Sturgeon Data Centre that is going to temporarily draw power from the grid under AESO’s 1,200 MW cap, and will later generate its own power via the Greenlight project. The facility is expected to begin operating within the next two to three years, before the Greenlight Electricity Centre. The Meta Center will rely on electricity supplied through Alberta’s grid under a long-term power agreement, with the first phase requiring up to 970 megawatts of power.
Greenlight is intended to provide dedicated generation capacity for projects like Meta while also supporting Alberta’s broader electricity system. Based on the report provided by the Office of the Minister of Affordability and Utilities, adding large electricity users can help distribute transmission costs across more customers and will represent Alberta’s first major experiment in building an AI ecosystem around abundant and reliable energy. The success of this approach will depend on whether the province can balance investment and innovation with affordability and public confidence.
However, while critics continue to question how rapidly growing demand will affect future electricity costs, Alberta’s decision to move first raises the fact at the heart of every pioneering effort: It’s impossible to fully predict the future, especially when it comes to energy prices.
Key takeaways:
- The Greenlight Electricity Centre is a planned 1,864 MW facility in Sturgeon County, expected to begin operating by 2031.
- The approximately $4.6-billion project is designed to supply electricity to both Alberta’s grid and a large AI data centre.
- Greenlight is one of the first major projects associated with Alberta’s Bring Your Own Power (BYOP) approach.
- The project is expected to create about 1,000 construction jobs and approximately 30 long-term skilled positions.
- Supporters say that this large-scale project can strengthen grid reliability, attract investment, and reduce infrastructure costs for existing ratepayers.
- Critics raise questions about long-term electricity prices, increased natural gas demand, cumulative environmental impacts, and whether large AI infrastructure projects will deliver lasting economic benefits for Albertans.
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