NT backs A$40b Beetaloo data centre, power plant
Sydney (23 July)
The Northern Territory (NT) Government has granted Beetaloo Digital – a subsidiary of Australian gas producer Beetaloo Energy – exclusive development rights over 185 hectares of land near Darwin to support a joint energy and data centre project.
Beetaloo plans to build two AI data centres and a gas-fired power plant to increase domestic gas demand, speed up the development of its Beetaloo Basin shale gas project, and support NT’s economy, the company said on 22 July.
Beetaloo will supply its planned power plant with 200 TJ/day of gas – per gigawatt of computing power – from Beetaloo Basin gas wells, the company added. It plans to use gas-fired power to run its data centres and support NT’s grid, according to Beetaloo Energy Managing Director Alex Underwood.
But the project is at a very early stage and subject to commercial and regulatory approvals. Beetaloo will use its land development rights to secure project partners and complete early design studies, the company said. It aims to run the project as a joint venture with gas pipeline, power plant, and data centre developers.
The NT Government’s support for Beetaloo’s project comes one week after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans to develop nationally binding data centre development standards.
Data centre developers will need to underwrite power costs, pay for new grid connections, and use power efficiently under the Government’s planned regulatory framework, Albanese said on 15 July.
“[Beetaloo Digital’s] project is … aligned with the Prime Minister’s recently announced [data centre] grid mandate requirements,” Underwood said.
Greenpeace has opposed Beetaloo’s project because it threatens to entrench fossil fuel infrastructure and strain water resources, the climate advocacy group said.
“We are seeing … data centre operators treat Australia like a playground, steam-rolling ahead with projects that would lock down precious water resources and spike emissions,” Greenpeace Australia Pacific Head of Climate and Energy Joe Rafalowicz said.
Greenpeace has urged the Australian Government to mandate the use of renewable energy in data centres.
By Avinash Govind