Moderated by Colin Knoll (The Better Business Co.), this session explores what Alberta can learn from Loudoun, what to consider, what to avoid, and what conversations must come first before deciding what scale of digital infrastructure is right for Alberta.
Loudon County, Virginia, USA is the world’s largest data centre cluster, now home to nearly 200+ facilities and responsible for moving 70% of the world’s internet traffic. Its growth has strengthened the local economy as Loudon County is the wealthiest county in America, but the data centre boom has also created real challenges around land use, energy demand, energy mix, community impact, and long term sustainability.
Mike Turner, Ashburn District Supervisor, Vice Chair of the Loudoun County Board, and author of “A Strategy for a Changing Paradigm”, will share what Loudoun has learned, the criticms and risks it faces over the next several years, and how resident concerns, environmental pressures, and grid limitations are shaping its future decisions.
While Alberta has land and energy resources that could support digital infrastructure development, whether this is the right path, and at what scale, requires careful consideration. Any exploration of this opportunity must begin with meaningful engagement with residents, municipalities, Indigenous communities, utilities, and industry to understand expectations, risks, and long term tradeoffs.
- The intersection of AI, energy, and applied AI is the focus for this panel, with the following participants:
- Mike Turner (Loudon County, USA): The lessons, learnings, and future of AI, energy, and data centres in Loudon County.
- Nicole Janssen (AltaML): How applied AI may fit into Alberta’s economic future
- Melanie Bayley (Energex): Energy and grid considerations for any potential AI, data centre and compute growth