DARWIN: The developer of one of Australia’s biggest planned data centres (DCs) has scrapped its start date after a regulator said it needed longer than usual to set environmental parameters, a setback to the nation’s goal to be a fast-track destination for artificial intelligence investment.
Startup Energy North, which says it has finance lined up for a sprawling gas and solar-powered DC on a cattle ranch in the remote north, had given a “first power” date of June 28, 2028, in regulatory filings.
But after the Northern Territory (NT) environment regulator said in an Oct 7 ruling it was suspending its seven-week deadline to decide what hurdles the project must clear, the developer said it had scrubbed its timeline.
“The June 2028 date in our referral was an indicative schedule at the time of lodgement, and we’re no longer working to it,” said Energy North vice-president of project development Daniel Hunter.
The project is the biggest in Australia to put back its timing and shows how DC ambitions face hurdles even in the isolated north, which has sought to differentiate itself from cities in the contest for the US$7 trillion McKinsey forecasts will be invested in “AI factories” globally by 2030.
The NT is counting on luring projects with its vast supply of uninhabited land and sunshine. — Reuters
