Australia's leading data centre operators are set to inject an additional A$26 billion into infrastructure investments by 2030, driven by surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and the growing use of smart devices.
This development comes amid increased scrutiny over the sector’s environmental impact.
The country’s top five operators — AirTrunk, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), CDC, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and NextDC — responded to the environmental concerns, citing a Mandala Partners report that found data centres account for only 1% of Australia's electricity usage, equivalent to around three terawatt hours annually.
AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda said, “With its abundant renewable energy and commitment to accelerating the energy transition, Australia can be at the forefront of the development of sustainable data centres.”
Khuda said data centres were in a position to accelerate the country’s transition to renewable energy, given the investment that the operators were making in wind, solar and alternative sources.
Data centre operators aim to match their energy consumption with 100% renewable energy by 2030 through power purchase agreements, which already account for 45% of global renewable energy deals involving data centres.
AWS, Australia's largest data centre operator, will invest A$13.6 billion over the next three years.
AWS Asia-Pacific director Carly Wishart emphasised the potential for sustainable digital growth, which requires “continuous investment in digital infrastructure and workforce skills, a focus on more renewable energy projects”.
Other industry leaders echoed the critical role of data centres in national progress and energy efficiency as AI adoption accelerates.
NextDC CEO Craig Scroggie said it was “as AI marks the next big technology shift, there will be an ever-increasing demand for data centres and in turn, a greater focus on energy efficiency to ensure the required processing capacity to deliver the requirements of AI in the most sustainable way possible.”