Data centres are booming in Australia - but at what cost?

Data centres in Australia are booming, but at a significant cost. The noise and size of these structures are causing concern for nearby residents. Lucy, a parent, hears a constant humming just 350 meters from her home in Lane Cove, Sydney. Four more data centres are planned to be built in the local industrial park.

Australia has become a hotspot for data centres due to its clean energy, natural gas reserves, and ample land. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, believes the country could become a global data centre hub. There are currently 162 data centres across the nation, with plans for 90 more, and an estimated investment of over A$155bn. One of the world's largest data centres, expected to be Australia's largest single energy user, is planned for western Sydney.

The rapid growth of data centres has raised concerns about their environmental impact. Australia has around 13.6 million AI users monthly, making it the sixth most active user globally. Experts argue that building data centres in Australia will lower the barrier to developing more AI companies. However, energy and environmental experts warn that the country's capacity to meet the energy and water demands of new data centres is limited.

Data centres could triple energy demands by 2030, leading to potential power price increases and the need for new coal and gas power plants.

While the government sees the data centre boom as essential for the economy, environmental concerns remain. Australia's reliance on renewable energy sources is being questioned, as many data centres prefer to build new gas-fired power stations instead. In an area just 90 minutes from Sydney's central business district, Cloud Carrier plans to build three gas-fired power stations to support their existing and future data centres.

Meanwhile, data centres consume massive amounts of water to prevent overheating servers, which is a significant problem in a drought-prone country like Australia.