The Smart Energy Council today welcomed the Albanese Labor Government’s release of national expectations for data centres and AI infrastructure, particularly the strong focus on supporting Australia’s clean energy transition.
The framework makes clear that data centre developments must support Australia’s energy transition, including by underwriting new renewable power supply and ensuring costs are not passed on to consumers.
Smart Energy Council Acting CEO, David McElrea, said the announcement strikes the right balance between enabling economic growth and supporting Australia’s energy security.
“Data centres and artificial intelligence can deliver major benefits to Australia’s economy, innovation system and national capability,” Mr McElrea said.
“But this growth cannot come at the expense of environmental impacts or higher energy bills for Australian households and businesses.”
“The Government has been clear that new data centres should support the rollout of renewable energy, invest in energy storage, and pay their fair share of grid infrastructure. That is critical to ensuring this fast-growing sector strengthens, rather than strains, our energy system.”
The Smart Energy Council said the expectations send a strong signal that Australia is open to data centre investment, provided it aligns with the national interest and clean energy transition.
“Australia has a unique opportunity to power the global AI economy with renewable energy backed by storage. ” Mr McElrea said.
“But, data centres have to provide sustainable pipes and power lines. These expectations should become requirements, founded on the principle that emissions must not rise with the development of data centres.”
“Australia has abundant resources of solar and wind, but the opposite is true for water and mandated emission reductions.”
“Data centres need to be real zero, not net zero, in their emissions.”
“We stand ready to work with the AI and data centre sector to support the rollout of renewable energy generation and energy storage infrastructure needed to power this growth.”
“We look forward to working with governments and industry to ensure data centres contribute positively to Australia’s clean energy future.”
