Exclusive-Australian outback data centre pulls timeline after regulator stalls

Energy North, a startup planning a massive solar and gas-powered data center in Australia's remote Northern Territory, has abandoned its targeted start date of June 28, 2028. The setback stems from the Northern Territory environment regulator's decision to suspend its seven-week deadline for determining the project's environmental parameters.

Energy North's vice president of project development, Daniel Hunter, stated that the original June 2028 date was merely an indicative schedule and that the company is no longer working towards it. The project, dubbed Project Ares, is four times larger than Melbourne's recent data center expansion and ten times the size of a proposed project in Sydney that was halted due to resident opposition.

The Northern Territory government seeks advice from the federal government, which is developing policy expectations for data centers and AI infrastructure developers, before setting a new timeline.