Concern about data centres continues to grow around the nation. A recent report by the independent Climate Council, states Australia currently has at least 162 operational data centres and another 90 proposed. While these centres have been supporting existing digital services in Australia for many years, cloud computing and the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) require much more computing power and the need for more data centres. And international players regard Australia as an ideal location for data centres.
There are major community concerns about the impact the surge in data centre developments will have on the cost to our climate and water and power bills.
Data centres require a huge, uninterrupted supply of electricity and water to keep them operating and cooled as well as backups for both essentials in case of breakdowns in regular sources. The Climate Council is concerned that without additional renewable energy generation and system flexibility, the industry’s power demand risks extending reliance on coal and gas, pushing up power prices and harming national and state climate targets. And water demand for data centres is likely to at least triple by 2030.
The Federal Government, having welcomed investment in data centres, has been on notice for some time about addressing community concerns about the growth of the Australian data centre industry. Last month the Prime Minister pledged to ensure that data centres bring on new renewable energy. This was followed up with a meeting of Energy Ministers on July 28 where most states and territories agreed to regulate to ensure that data centres match their electricity demand with new renewables and that this renewable power is additional to what already exists or is being built.
While the Climate Council sees this as positive there are questions about timeframes and how it will be implemented. Hopefully the both the Federal and State Governments will act decisively and quickly on their commitments. Concerned community members will certainly be watching.
The Senate is conducting an Inquiry on Artificial Intelligence and Data Centres with submissions due by September 1.
- Leonie Blain
Published in the Voices for the Earth column in The Clarence Valley Independent 7th August, 2026.
