OH HI

Is this new Meta data centre a massive win for Alberta, or are we missing the full picture? The government’s new ‘fact check’ says this facility will use less water than an Alberta golf course and will actually lower our utility transmission fees. Looking at the fine print, I have a few major questions that I hope someone can answer for me. First, the hidden water cost. The building itself is a closed loop system, which is great. What about the massive power plants needed to generate its 1 gigawatt energy demand? Doesn’t cooling those industrial turbines indirectly require billions of liters of water annually? How does that impact our regional water tables long term? Second, the grid loophole. The private natural gas plant isn’t even built yet. Until it is, Capital Power is reportedly pulling 250 megawatts straight from our current Alberta grid. In a deregulated market with finite supply, won’t that sudden massive demand drive up wholesale energy prices for regular families? Third, the 6 percent savings versus the rebate. The province says this project will cut transmission fees by up to 6 percent. If the core cost of electricity spikes since supply is tight, won’t those delivery savings get completely wiped out? Is a one time 100 dollar energy rebate really going to protect local consumers if our monthly bills go up? This is why we all need to start paying very close attention to our utility bills over the coming months. We need to watch whether these massive corporate energy draws start leaking into our monthly electricity rates. I’m not trying to say I know everything here. I genuinely want to know how the province plans to debunk these concerns and protect Albertans from rising utility costs. What do you guys think? Is this a good deal for the province, or are we setting ourselves up for higher bills? Let’s talk in the comments. . . . . . . . . #Alberta #SturgeonCounty #DanielleSmith #AlbertaPolitics #datacenter