By Chris Hogg
December 10, 2024
DIGITAL JOURNAL
Image courtesy O'Leary Ventures
Plans for a $70-billion project to build the world’s largest artificial intelligence (AI) data centre were unveiled today, marking a bold step in Alberta’s push to become a global leader in AI innovation.
Dubbed “Wonder Valley,” the proposed data centre is set to be built in the Municipal District of Greenview, an area south and east of Grande Prairie.
The ambitious initiative led by O’Leary Ventures in collaboration with the Municipal District of Greenview, aims to position Alberta as a hub for advanced AI infrastructure and innovation
Integrating provincial strategy with global demand
The announcement follows Alberta’s recent strategy, “Powering the Future of Artificial Intelligence,” unveiled to establish the province as North America’s premier AI data centre hub.
Alberta Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish emphasized that the province’s energy resources, competitive tax environment, and cold climate provide a compelling case for such developments.
Global demand for AI data centres is expected to triple by 2030, driven by increasing reliance on machine learning, natural language processing, and other AI technologies.
Wonder Valley is positioned to capitalize on this demand with a vision of creating 7.5 gigawatts of low-cost power over the next decade.
Phase one, estimated at $2 billion, would produce 1.4 gigawatts, with subsequent expansions adding one gigawatt annually.
Powering the data centre boom
Energy management is a critical focus for the project.
Wonder Valley plans to utilize natural gas and geothermal energy to power its hyperscale data centres.
Alberta’s government is collaborating with infrastructure providers to modernize regulations and ensure that both on-grid and off-grid energy systems can meet the demands of these massive data centres without impacting energy affordability for Albertans.
While details are not yet known on which companies are involved in the project, CSV Midstream Solutions stated late Monday night it had collaborated with O’Leary Ventures.
KEVIN O' LEARY (MR. WONDERFUL HIS NOM DE GUERRE) FORMER CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE,
“CSV Midstream is proud to collaborate with O’Leary Ventures and the M.D. of Greenview to help facilitate this unique project in the province, creating lasting benefits for the surrounding communities, Alberta, and Canada,” the company said on LinkedIn.
Economic and social impact
Beyond its technological and energy ambitions, Wonder Valley will bring substantial economic benefits if it rolls out as described.
Thousands of jobs are expected during construction and operation, alongside increased tax revenues for the region. O’Leary Ventures has committed to working with Indigenous communities, emphasizing partnerships that create mutual benefits and respect the land’s historical and cultural significance
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Written ByChris Hogg
Chris is an award-winning entrepreneur who has worked in publishing, digital media, broadcasting, advertising, social media & marketing, data and analytics. Chris is a partner in the media company Digital Journal, content marketing and brand storytelling firm Digital Journal Group, and Canada's leading digital transformation and innovation event, the mesh conference. He covers innovation impact where technology intersections with business, media and marketing. Chris is a member of Digital Journal's Insight Forum.
The exponential growth of AI and data centers is driving a massive surge in global energy demand, straining power grids and raising concerns about energy security.
Investors remain optimistic about AI's potential despite the challenges, but there is growing scrutiny around ESG practices and the need for sustainable energy solutions.
A rapid expansion of clean energy infrastructure, including nuclear power, is crucial to meet AI's energy needs and mitigate its environmental impact.
AI is reshaping the global energy market, and there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. Machine learning and natural language processing require massive amounts of energy-hungry computing power, and as the industry grows it is already placing a major strain on energy grids around the world. But while there are serious concerns for the economic and environmental impact of the technology’s insatiable energy demand, AI remains a huge investment priority for both the public and the private sector. It’s clear that AI is here to stay, and contingency plans for global energy security are urgently needed.
The global data center market is expected to be valued at around USD $300 billion in 2024, with a projected average compound annual growth rate of about 10% over the next five years, driven almost entirely by the growth of artificial intelligence, according to analysis by TMT Finance.
Law firm DLA Piper recently surveyed 176 senior executives from the data center sector, and found that “70 percent of investors expect to see funding continue to rise for bit barn projects, including debt,” according to a summary report from The Register. “This is despite almost every single one of them – 98 percent of respondents – voicing concerns about the availability and reliability of power to supply those projects,” the summation went on to say.
Indeed, the DLA Piper report found that responsible governance concerns have risen sharply in priority across the sector. Seventy percent of executives surveyed said that they “expect increased scrutiny around ESG practices, particularly regarding the integration of renewable energy and advancements in energy-efficient technologies.” ESG, or ‘environmental, social, and governance’ refers to an investing principle that values social responsibility, environmental stewardship, and good governance.
Balancing AI-driven data center demand with competing energy, water needs is a critical piece of responsible investment and governance, as runaway data center construction could lead to energy shortages, skyrocketing energy prices, and sharply increased greenhouse gas production. Already, the annual power consumption of AI is more than most entire countries – only 16 nations consume more energy in a year than AI. “The almost overnight surge in electricity demand from data centers is now outstripping the available power supply in many parts of the world,” Bloomberg reported back in June.
Some countries, such as Ireland, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia are already facing serious problems with producing enough energy to power their already-planned data centers. In the United States, a recent scientific study found that unless the government invests billions of dollars in generation and transmission capacity over the next few years to meet demand surges from data centers, Americans can expect their energy costs to go up by as much as 70 percent.
Due to the currently insufficient infrastructure, data centers are already facing years-long bottlenecks for connecting to the grid. The Register reports that “utility companies in the US are being flooded with power delivery requests for sites marked for data center construction, but that they are unable to fulfill many of these until the 2030s.” What’s more, many of those utilities are demanding that those project investors pay large upfront non-refundable payments in order to fulfill the projects’ massive infrastructural needs.
Despite the challenges, AI investors remain undeterred. The growth of the sector is inevitable, but will need to be reigned in by governance frameworks to avoid disastrous consequences for the grid, the climate, and the consumer. There are some ambitious plans for making AI less energy-intensive, including through future-facing tech innovations like quantum computing and industry-disrupting algorithms. But until those ideas become reality, what we need is a whole lot more clean energy in a hurry. A rapid buildout of clean energy resources – including nuclear fission and possibly even nuclear fusion – is paramount to balancing this unstoppable market force.
By Haley Zaremba for Oilprice.com
Facebook owner Meta seeks up to 4 GW nuclear capacity
Meta is the latest tech company to seek nuclear as an energy source for its growing data needs as it seeks proposals for as much as 4 GW of nuclear capacity in the USA by the early 2030s.
The company, which includes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp among its brands, is releasing a request for proposals "to identify nuclear energy developers to help us meet our AI innovation and sustainability objectives".
The target is between 1 and 4 GW of new nuclear generation capacity in the USA. "We are seeking developers with strong community engagement, development, and permitting, and execution expertise that have development opportunities for new nuclear energy resources - either small modular reactors or larger nuclear reactors," the notice announcing the request for proposals (RFP) says.
It adds "we are taking an open approach with this RFP so we can partner with others across the industry to bring new nuclear energy to the grid". Qualification to be considered closes on 3 January with initial RFP proposals due by 7 February.
In a blog post providing further background, it says: "We are looking to identify developers that can help accelerate the availability of new nuclear generators and create sufficient scale to achieve material cost reductions by deploying multiple units, both to provide for Meta’s future energy needs and to advance broader industry decarbonisation. We believe working with partners who will ultimately permit, design, engineer, finance, construct, and operate these power plants will ensure the long-term thinking necessary to accelerate nuclear technology."
Meta says that nuclear energy is more capital intensive, takes longer to develop, has more regulatory requirements and has a longer operational life so "we need to engage nuclear energy projects earlier in their development lifecycle and consider their operational requirements when designing a contract. And, as scaling deployments of nuclear technology offers the best chance of rapidly reducing cost, engaging with a partner across projects and locations will allow us to ensure that we can deploy strategically".
The decision of the Facebook-owner to bring on its own nuclear energy supply follows in the footsteps of fellow tech giants Microsoft, Google and Amazon, and is the result of the vast energy needs required for huge and growing data centres with artificial intelligence developments set to push those energy requirements even higher. As with renewables, nuclear provides carbon free power, but crucially it also provides that power round-the-clock, which is a key requirement of data centres.
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