The Financial Post reports in its Friday, Oct. 4, edition that the data centre train, with AI as the conductor, is set to depart. A Postmedia dispatch to the Post reports that Alberta's role as a destination for data centres depends on its electricity supply and how quickly it seizes the opportunity. A report by the Canada Energy Regulator found 239 data centres operating across the country, with 22 in Alberta. The report highlighted Canada's cold climate, low electricity costs in certain provinces and abundant renewable power as factors making the country an attractive destination for data centres. The report also noted that AI is expected to lead to a 160-per-cent increase in global data centre power use by the end of the decade. At the Energy Disruptors: Unite summit, industry experts examined the seismic shifts in the energy transition caused by artificial intelligence, and how AI data centres are expected to gobble up huge amounts of electricity. Countries with ample electricity supplies will be on the radar for these mammoth centres, including those built by Alphabet's Google, Microsoft and Amazon. Microsoft's Jim Collins says, "Energy is really core, key to the continued growth of the data centre industry."