Smith's Digital Dreams Depend on Power Play

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has announced plans to build 'digital pipelines' and 'digital refineries', referring to artificial intelligence data centres that will require significant amounts of electricity. The new data centre in Strathcona County, northeast of Edmonton, is expected to use much of the province's spare power grid capacity.

Smith envisions Alberta becoming a world leader in AI data centres, with these facilities consuming large amounts of natural gas and requiring the construction of new power plants. However, critics argue that this plan may strain the existing power grid during heatwaves or cold snaps, leading to brownouts or blackouts.

The Strathcona County data centre is set to come online at least two years before its accompanying natural gas electricity generator is ready, which means it will draw from the existing power grid. According to the Alberta Energy Regulator, this could lead to a shortage of spare capacity in the province-wide grid.

Smith has said that her plan will not be a problem, but critics want to see more practical detail on how utility companies will build out enough new generating capacity to handle the 'digital refineries' before they are built. The premier's vision for Alberta's future is ambitious, but it needs more substance to reassure Albertans.