Residents prepare to fight AI data centre approval
A newly-formed group is preparing to lodge an appeal against a recent AI data centre approval, arguing the planning laws used to assess it are not fit for purpose.
Residents in northern Tasmania are preparing to challenge a decision to approve a new AI data centre. Anne-Marie Bastian and Nicholla Thompson, both from the riverside community of Rowella, are among the residents who believe the planning laws are outdated and not suitable for assessing such a futuristic project. The proposed data centre, built by Firmus Technologies, would be located in Bell Bay, less than two kilometres from the residents' homes.
Firmus Technologies has plans for three AI data centres in Tasmania, including a 288-megawatt centre already approved with conditions by the George Town Council and a 104-megawatt facility underway outside Launceston. A 52-megawatt centre is also under development in Wesley Vale, east of Devonport. Some locals have threatened to sell their homes or not pay rates in protest of the decision.
Despite the opposition, the George Town Council stated they were bound by the planning scheme and had no grounds to delay the approval. The community's president and secretary of the newly-formed Environmental Awareness Association plan to challenge the council's decision in the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) within 14 days.
They argue that the 33-year-old planning law is not suitable for assessing such a futuristic project and that using an outdated tool to measure a data centre is inappropriate.
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