Meta AI Data Centre: Mark Zuckerberg's Mega AI Project to Consume Power Equal to 8 Lakh Homes

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is making one of the biggest investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure with a massive new AI data centre in Canada. While the project is expected to strengthen Meta's AI ambitions, it has also triggered concerns among scientists and environmental groups due to its enormous electricity and water requirements.

Meta to Build Its Largest-Ever AI Data Centre

Meta is investing around ₹76,000 crore (US$9.17 billion) to build its first AI data centre in Canada. The facility, located in Sturgeon County, Alberta, will also become the company's 33rd data centre globally and one of its largest AI infrastructure projects.

The data centre will initially operate with 1 gigawatt (GW) of power capacity, with the potential to expand to 1.8GW in the future to support next-generation AI models, including Llama.

Power Consumption Equal to 8 Lakh Homes

The biggest concern surrounding the project is its enormous energy demand.

According to estimates, the AI facility will consume electricity comparable to the annual power usage of nearly 8 lakh households.

To support this demand, Meta has partnered with Pembina Pipeline to develop a dedicated natural gas power plant. Until the plant becomes operational, Capital Power will provide 250 megawatts of electricity for the project.

Why Did Meta Select Alberta?

Meta selected Alberta for several strategic reasons:

Abundant natural gas resources for cost-effective electricity generation

Naturally cold climate that helps reduce cooling costs for AI servers

Government incentives aimed at attracting large technology investments

The location is expected to improve operational efficiency while supporting Meta's rapidly expanding AI infrastructure.

How Will the Data Centre Affect the Environment?

AI data centres require enormous amounts of electricity and water to cool thousands of high-performance servers.

Meta says the facility will use a closed-loop liquid cooling system that recycles water and claims overall water consumption will remain lower than that of a typical golf course.

The company has also pledged to increase investments in renewable and clean energy to reduce the project's environmental footprint.

Environmental Groups Raise Fresh Concerns

Despite Meta's assurances, environmental organisations remain concerned.

Greenpeace Canada has urged governments to establish stricter environmental and human rights regulations before permitting the large-scale expansion of AI infrastructure.

Experts point out that major technology companies already consume massive quantities of natural resources. Reports indicate that Amazon's data centres used around 2.5 billion gallons of water for cooling during 2025, highlighting the growing environmental cost of the global AI race.

AI Boom Brings New Infrastructure Challenges

As companies including Meta, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and OpenAI continue investing billions in artificial intelligence, demand for large-scale data centres is increasing rapidly.

While these facilities power advanced AI services used by millions worldwide, they also raise important questions about long-term electricity consumption, water usage and sustainable infrastructure, making environmental responsibility a central issue in the future of AI development.