Australian data centers could consume 13% of electricity by 2036
Data centers in Australia could consume 34 terawatt-hours of electricity from the grid by 2036, or 13% of total electricity demand. This is nearly equivalent to the 38 terawatt-hours currently used by all households in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, ABC News Australia reports, citing a forecast by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
AEMO took into account the expected energy consumption of 225 known data center projects at various stages of development that plan to connect to the national electricity market. The operator noted that uncertainty over the number of projects that will be implemented remains high, but the projected surge in demand significantly exceeds last year's estimates.
The number of projects has more than doubled
There are already 165 data centers operating in the national electricity market, which covers all Australian states and territories except Western Australia and the Northern Territory. They currently consume approximately 3% of the electricity supplied to the grid.
Just a year ago, AEMO expected data centers to reach this level of consumption only after 2050. Even in an accelerated transition scenario, the operator forecast their consumption at around 24 terawatt-hours by mid-2035. Over the past 12 months, the number of known data centers under development has risen from 97 to 225. The greatest growth is expected in New South Wales and Victoria, with South Australia set to be the next largest state by scale.
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Government prepares renewable energy requirements
Australia's federal government expects to approve new rules for data centers at a national cabinet meeting. The proposed requirements envisage that such facilities will guarantee new renewable energy supply to cover their energy consumption.
Under the government's proposal, data centers will have to conclude power purchase agreements with new renewable energy projects. This could help such projects attract financing, as some of them cannot demonstrate customer demand when applying for loans.
It is also proposed to require data centers to use more efficient technologies to reduce water consumption and cover the costs of their own water infrastructure. States and territories plan to urge them to avoid locating large facilities near homes, schools, and land suitable for residential development. AEMO said grid reliability is not currently under threat, but depends on the timely commissioning of new generation capacity amid the retirement of coal-fired power plants and growing demand.
