An energy company owned by a major Canadian natural gas producer is proposing to build a massive data centre in west-central Alberta, even though the developer has yet to secure a tech company to operate the facility.

Emerald Energy Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tourmaline Oil Corp., is planning to build a power-generation facility and a data centre called Malachite One. 

The proposed site is on Crown land, adjacent to Tourmaline’s active Banshee Gas Plant about 40 kilometres southwest of Edson in Yellowhead County.