## Alberta‘s Energy Policies Threaten AI Data Center Goals, Analyst Warns
Alberta’s ambition to become a hub for artificial intelligence data centres is facing a potential roadblock due to the province’s continued reliance on natural gas, according to energy analyst Amory Lovins, co-founder of RMI. The province’s preference for data centres that supply their own power is clashing with policies that are hindering investment in renewable energy generation.
A new industrial carbon pricing framework announced this week is expected to further discourage clean energy investment,the Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) stated.Proposed revisions to the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program-commonly known as the “industrial carbon tax”-would allow companies to meet compliance requirements through “onsite emissions reduction investments,” rather than contributing to the TIER fund or purchasing carbon credits. Radha Rajagopalan, CanREA’s director of policy for Alberta, described the speed and scope of the planned changes as “surprising and troublesome.”
“With so many changes already under way in Alberta, in the electricity market and with government policy, these essential changes to TIER are adding to an already challenging climate for renewables,” Rajagopalan said. More details are available here.
