Province tells U.S. firms Alberta wants data centres but bring your own power [Video]

The provincial government is trying to sell Alberta as a prime location for data centres — buildings that store and process digital information.

Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish made his pitch on a trip to Silicon Valley last week. But the cost of power in Alberta may hinder these ambitious plans, one data centre CEO argues. 

Glubish told CBC’s Edmonton AM the province’s environmental and business conditions are well-suited to the developments.

“We have a cold weather climate, so it’s easy to keep these things cool. We have an abundance of energy that we can develop very cheaply and very quickly in a very friendly business environment — and we can do this faster than anywhere else,” he said.

He emphasized the province’s focus on reducing red tape, and electricity policy that makes building power generation infrastructure easy.

The province asks companies to “bring your own power” and build their own infrastructure — …