Add your name: Ensure Australia’s new data centre laws deliver genuine climate protections

In just 10 years, data centres could use nearly as much energy as nearly all the homes in NSW and Victoria combined.¹

Whether they power themselves with clean energy, or with polluting coal and gas, comes down to the rules being written right now. And we have until 9 October to make our voices heard!

Right now, the Federal Government is drafting new laws that will decide how data centres get built and powered.² There are already 225 data centres proposed across Australia.³ If they go ahead and use power from the main energy grid without adding new renewables, they’ll drive up the use of polluting and expensive coal and gas.

Some data centres and their big tech customers are actively seeking to lock in huge amounts of new gas generation,⁴ and we’ve already seen public calls for new data centres to pave the way for more polluting, unreliable coal.⁵

How we manage this industry will shape our energy system – and climate – for decades to come. Done right, data centres can bring new renewable energy and storage into our grid – supporting reliability, protecting power bills and keeping their climate impact in check. Done badly, the rest of us pick up the tab.

Now is the time to get the laws right to protect Australians.

There are large data centres currently proposed in Australia that could single-handedly create as much pollution as putting millions of extra cars on the roads if they use gas or power from the grid.⁶

Water utilities are receiving single-site connection requests for up to 40 million litres – 16 Olympic swimming pools worth – per day, while we are facing a hotter and drier climate.⁷ And if data centres aren’t matched with new renewable power, they could push up wholesale power prices by more than 20% across the main grid by 2035.⁸

That’s why we need strong rules to protect our climate, water resources and power prices from unchecked data centre growth.

Add your name to our open letter calling on the Federal Government to:

Make sure that every new data centre and its customers match no less than 100% of their energy use with genuinely new renewable power and storage.
Ensure new renewable generation and storage is built within three years – not a long or unlimited window – with penalties for non-compliance. NSW already requires data centres to match their demand with new renewables within four years to be eligible for fast-tracked planning assessment.
Close the door on off-grid gas as a primary power source for data centres – including while they set up new renewable energy sources.
Require data centres to adopt best-practice water and energy efficiency measures, and avoid drawing on drinking water supplies – like the Victorian Government’s data centre rules which will require data centres to use recycled or non-drinking water for cooling.
Backdate the new rules so they apply to every new data centre and its customers, everywhere in Australia – including facilities already in the pipeline.

Most Australians (82%) already agree:⁹ Governments should insist new data centres pay for additional renewable energy and storage to match their energy demand.

We have just a few short weeks to be heard – this is our chance to make sure data centres don’t derail our climate progress.

Choices made now will determine if the data centre industry – and its global tech customers – act as partners in Australia’s climate goals, or become a reason they’re derailed.

Submissions on the Government’s consultation paper are open until 9 October, with legislation expected to follow early next year. The Climate Council is currently developing a detailed submission that we will submit and publish in the coming weeks.

The more of us who call on the Government to make sure data centre operators and their big tech customers play by the right rules, the stronger the pressure is on decision makers to ensure they don’t miss this once-in-a-generation opportunity to get the rules right.

We’re more powerful together – add your name today! 💪

The Climate Council will deliver this open letter and its named signatories to the Prime Minister, key Ministers and other relevant decision-makers in government.

References: