US rejection of data centres is a warning for Australia — and maybe leverage

The US data centre industry suffered a significant setback during the recent midterm elections, with a majority of proposed data centre projects losing to voters. This trend was particularly pronounced in states that had become hotspots for data centre construction, with data centres becoming a politically charged issue. Exit polls revealed that three-quarters of voters opposed the construction of data centres in their communities and that the topic was covered in up to 14% of political ads in certain states.

The data centre industry's defeat marks a shift in the political landscape, as candidates from both major parties now oppose data centre construction. Australia's political class is taking note of these results, as the country has seen a surge in data centre construction proposals, but the scale and opposition levels are still considerably lower than in the US.

While there are concerns about the impact of data centres on the environment, NIMBYism, and automation, Australia has a bipartisan consensus on data centres, with a focus on attracting AI investment and building data centres "on our terms."