On Nov. 8, 2021, Amazon Web Services announced its Calgary data centre investment. That evening, a conversation took place that fundamentally changed how I thought about Alberta’s economic future.

The discussion wasn’t about one data centre. It was about artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and the massive expansion of computing infrastructure that would be required to support the next generation of the global economy. Industry leaders spoke about the need to dramatically increase data centre capacity around the world.

The question I left with was simple: Why couldn’t Alberta become one of the world’s premier destinations for this investment?

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Alberta possesses many of the ingredients that data centre operators are looking for. We have abundant land, access to energy, a strong engineering workforce, and proximity to major North American markets. We also have a significant competitive advantage that is often overlooked: climate.

Keeping data centres cool is one of the largest operating expenses operators face. Alberta’s cooler........

© Calgary Herald