Post: Australia sets out expectations for data centres

Australia sets out expectations for data centres

New data centres and AI infrastructure should not place upward pressure on energy prices and should make a positive contribution to Australia’s energy transition, the government has said.

In a document, published on 23 March, the government set out a series of expectations that it wants to see from data centre investors, developers and operators.

Operators are expected to work in coordination with energy regulators and suppliers to:

• secure new and additional clean energy generation and/or storage to offset their demand
• cover their share of transmission and distribution infrastructure costs
• minimise their energy demand and emissions by adopting industry-leading efficiency measures and technologies
• improve the overall security and stability of the energy grid, including by enhancing demand flexibility and opportunities for peak-load management, and through appropriate sharing of consumption data Department of Industry Science and Resources

It also said non-genuine data centre proposals that congest approval pathways are not welcome. To ensure a focus on well-developed proposals, the government will work with industry and networks on improving connection approvals.

Separately the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has published draft technical standards for large data centres and similar facilities connecting to National Electricity Market (NEM). The proposed technical standards, published on 16 March aim to result in “faster deployment, lower costs, and better investment certainty” as well as greater energy grid security.

The draft rule would raise the current threshold for large inverter-based loads from 5MW to 30MW and embed this definition directly in the national electricity rules, which AEMO said will ensure that technical requirements will only apply to large scale projects that are most likely to affect power system security.

Data centres will be required to meet new performance criteria, ensuring they can withstand disturbances to the power grid without going offline, and provide better data on how they respond to grid disturbances under the new rules.

Views are sought on the proposed technical standards until 7 May.