Arabic version: نمو مراكز البيانات يزيد الضغط على شبكة كهرباء فيكتوريا
According to ABC News, Victoria’s fast-growing data-centre sector is intensifying demand for electricity as ageing coal generation approaches retirement and proposed transmission projects face political and community opposition.
Golden Plains Wind Farm in Victoria’s south-west is due to almost double its capacity from 756 megawatts to 1.3 gigawatts. TagEnergy managing director Andrew Riggs said Amazon and Equinix were major customers, with the two data centres expected to use more than 25 per cent of the project’s energy, or about 352MW.
Victoria has 50 operating data centres, mostly in Melbourne’s west, and they are permitted to draw up to 840MW from the grid. The Victorian government says Melbourne received $6 billion in sector capital investment in the past year. Ten more data centres have been approved and eight are under planning assessment, while projected Victorian consumption by the industry is set to quadruple by 2030.
Australian Energy Market Operator projections indicate Victoria has no significant electricity supply buffer beyond 2029. Yallourn is scheduled to close in June 2028. The Western Renewables Link, a proposed 190-kilometre line between Sydenham and Bulgana, is intended to bring 3GW of wind, battery and solar projects to the grid. It has Victorian environmental approval, but still requires Commonwealth and parliamentary approvals. An independent cost assessment was ordered for the project, now estimated at $1.5 billion.
Opposition also continues over VNI West, a proposed interconnector intended to expand Victoria’s access to the New South Wales network and Snowy 2.0 storage. Its estimated cost ranges from $7.6 billion to $11.4 billion. The Coalition has promised to scrap VNI West if elected, while One Nation has advocated extending existing coal-fired plants and raised nuclear power. Australian Industry Group climate change and energy director Tennant Reed described the state’s supply outlook as being on a “knife edge”, saying the Western Renewables Link would be vital to meeting growing demand.
