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Shark Tank’s Mr. Wonderful Is Backing a Planned Mega AI Data-Center Park in Canada—Not a Finished Facility

Wonder Valley is Kevin O’Leary’s proposed Alberta AI data-center park—not a completed facility. Here are the facts behind its $70 billion, 7.5-GW and “world’s largest” claims.
From TheFinanceBase Team6 min to read
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Short answer: Kevin O’Leary, the “Mr. Wonderful” investor from Shark Tank, is backing Wonder Valley, a proposed AI data-center industrial park in Alberta, Canada. Its developers say a full build-out could become the world’s largest planned AI data-center park, with roughly 7.5 gigawatts of power capacity and more than $70 billion in lifetime capital investment. As of August 18, 2026, however, it was still in studies, permitting, infrastructure planning and consultation—not operating as a completed data center.

What Wonder Valley is—and is not

Wonder Valley is being presented as a multi-cluster industrial campus rather than one conventional server building. The proposal includes AI-compute facilities, power generation, natural-gas infrastructure, proposed geothermal generation, water and wastewater systems, roads and other industrial services, and connectivity intended for hyperscale customers. O’Leary Ventures and its partners are promoting the concept; O’Leary’s celebrity profile does not by itself prove that construction financing, customer contracts or final operating arrangements are in place.

The original announcement came in December 2024 through the Municipal District of Greenview. O’Leary Ventures identifies O’Leary as chairman and lists executives including Paul Palandjian. The project has also publicized a strategic partnership with McCourt Global.

Where it would be built

The proposed site is in the Greenview Industrial Gateway, within Alberta’s Municipal District of Greenview in the province’s northwest, about 40–42 kilometres south of Grande Prairie. The gateway is a broader industrial-development area; not every project there is part of Wonder Valley.

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Project and company materials describe thousands of acres, with figures ranging from approximately 6,000 to 7,000 acres. Those numbers should be treated as attributed planning figures: they may refer to the wider park, land under consideration or a particular development footprint rather than a completed campus.

The headline numbers, with their limits

Measure What has been reported What it means
Announcement December 9–10, 2024 Public launch of the proposal, not a construction-completion date.
Investment More than $70 billion Developers’ projected lifetime capital investment; not money shown as spent, raised or fully underwritten.
Power Approximately 7.5 GW Proposed ultimate, phased capacity—not current electricity consumption or available grid supply.
Land About 6,000–7,000 acres in company materials Reported physical scale; the precise boundary and phase allocation require project documentation.
Water Less than 6 million cubic metres per year at full build-out A project-update estimate whose definition—withdrawal, net consumption, peak or design maximum—must be kept clear.
Schedule Possible construction in 2027 in one update; later hopes reported elsewhere Tentative timing dependent on approvals, financing, power, land and customers.

The investment and power figures come from O’Leary Digital and related project materials. A planned 7.5 GW also needs interpretation. Generation capacity is what turbines or other plants could produce; utility capacity is what transmission and the grid can deliver; IT load is what servers consume; total site load adds cooling, networking, water systems and other overhead. A headline power figure alone does not establish how many GPUs the site will contain.

Why the proponents chose Alberta

Project materials point to Alberta’s natural-gas resources, industrial land, energy-sector workforce and existing infrastructure. They also cite a cooler climate and the possibility of dedicated or “off-grid” generation. These are the proponents’ stated advantages, not independent proof that the economics or engineering are settled.

Natural-gas generation could offer dispatchable electricity, but it also raises fuel-supply, emissions, air-quality, permitting and financing questions. “Off-grid” describes a proposed power arrangement; it does not eliminate environmental review, water needs, fuel infrastructure or public roads and other services.

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Has construction started?

No reviewed evidence supports describing Wonder Valley as an operating data center or a completed facility under construction. The Municipal District of Greenview’s project updates and a June 2026 KIX FM report described environmental and technical studies, regulatory applications, infrastructure planning and engagement with Indigenous communities and regional stakeholders.

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One schedule discussed continued permitting during 2026, possible construction in 2027 and initial power availability in 2028, followed by broader phases. The Salt Lake Tribune reported a later hoped-for construction start. The difference illustrates that dates remain estimates, not commitments.

Approvals and environmental review

Alberta determined that Wonder Valley did not require a provincial environmental impact assessment under the applicable classification. That is not an environmental approval, a building permit or permission to operate.

According to Alberta’s environmental-approvals information, the project still needs technical work on air, land and water and the permits and authorizations required for construction and operation. Water licences, wastewater arrangements, emissions controls, land-use decisions, building approvals, power facilities and infrastructure can involve different authorities. Alberta’s authorization viewer is the relevant place to check issued Water Act or Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act authorizations.

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Water and the Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation proceedings

Water is a central practical issue for a campus of this proposed scale. A 2026 project update cited anticipated maximum demand of less than 6 million cubic metres annually at full build-out, with supply connected to the Smoky River system through infrastructure authorized by Greenview. The figure comes from project or municipal materials; it should not be treated as an independently verified final consumption number, and withdrawal is not the same as net consumption.

The Environmental Appeals Board decision dismissed an appeal involving the water licence after finding that Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation did not have standing on the evidence presented in that proceeding. That decision addressed the specific appeal and authorization. It was not blanket approval of the entire data-center park and did not resolve every consultation, land, environmental or judicial-review question. MBC Radio’s account provides additional reporting on that outcome.

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Who would use it?

The developers say they are targeting hyperscalers and other large AI-compute customers. The available material does not establish signed contracts with Microsoft, Google, Tesla, OpenAI or any other named company. The accurate description is that Wonder Valley is being marketed to potential hyperscalers, not that those companies are committed tenants.

For a project of this size, customer commitments matter because they support financing, equipment orders and the decision about how much of the ultimate vision to build. A proposed power campus is not the same as a customer-backed deployment.

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What “world’s largest” actually means

O’Leary Ventures, Greenview and industry coverage describe Wonder Valley as the “world’s largest” AI data-center industrial park or campus. The claim appears to concern the proposed full build-out. No reviewed independent source establishes that it is the world’s largest operating AI data center.

“Largest” can mean acreage, planned power, investment, computing capacity or campus area. Comparisons also need to match proposed sites with proposed sites, operating facilities with operating facilities, and single buildings with multi-site industrial parks. The defensible wording is: developers say Wonder Valley could become the world’s largest planned AI data-center park based on its proposed scale.

What must happen before the vision becomes real?

  • Land control: The development needs secure control of the required parcels; a letter of intent or proposed arrangement is not proof that all land has been purchased.
  • Power: A 7.5-GW ambition requires generation, transmission, fuel, cooling and backup systems, with approvals and financing for each phase.
  • Financing: A projected $70 billion is not evidence that the full amount has been committed or underwritten.
  • Customers: Anchor tenants or long-term capacity agreements would be needed to support later phases.
  • Water and cooling: Authorities and the public need a clear definition of the annual water figure and its effects on the Smoky River system.
  • Consultation and permits: Water, land-use, emissions, wastewater, construction and Indigenous-consultation processes remain distinct from the environmental-assessment classification.

Bottom line for readers

Wonder Valley is a real, unusually ambitious Alberta proposal associated with Kevin O’Leary and O’Leary Ventures. Its $70-billion investment, 7.5-GW capacity and “world’s largest” descriptions are projected full-build-out claims. As of August 18, 2026, the evidence supports calling it planned and conditional—not built, operating or guaranteed.

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