Data centres power up debate on environmental red tape

Data centres are poised to become the contentious issue in tense negotiations between the Australian federal government and state authorities over environmental regulations. At a meeting in Brisbane on Friday, state ministers and federal official Murray Watt discussed handing over environmental approval for projects to the states and territories.

While developers will still need to comply with federal environmental law, the proposed changes would allow states to conduct assessments alongside their own regulations, reducing the number of governments involved and halving the workload. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt cautioned that these delicate federal-state agreements should not be rushed, emphasizing that national environmental requirements should not be weakened by any single state or territory.

The meeting also addressed other issues, such as harmonizing restrictions on various items and addressing the unique situation of artificial intelligence infrastructure standards. Queensland and the Northern Territory have been granted exemptions from certain AI standards, allowing them to use coal and gas for their data centres.

This is because most of Queensland's power is generated publicly, and the Northern Territory relies heavily on gas. The consultation paper on AI standards suggests that national minimum standards for renewable energy investments could be set, but exemptions could be granted to jurisdictions that can demonstrate benefits for grid stability and lower electricity prices for customers.