Project schedule and environmental review
A 1-gigawatt, or GW, artificial intelligence data center project in Australia has withdrawn its original power supply target because of environmental review delays. As competition to expand AI infrastructure intensifies, environmental regulation and community acceptance, alongside securing electricity, are emerging as key factors in project development.
According to Reuters on November 2, Australian startup Energy North has decided to revise the initial power supply target for Project Ares, which it is pursuing in the Northern Territory. The original plan was to begin supplying electricity on June 28, 2028, but environmental review delays have made that schedule difficult to maintain.
Project Ares involves building a 1 GW AI data center in the Barkly region of northern Australia. Solar and gas-fired generation facilities would be built on a remote cattle station site hundreds of kilometers from major cities to supply electricity without relying on the external power grid.
However, on October 7, the Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority suspended the original seven-week review deadline, saying more time was needed for the environmental review. It cited the need for further consideration as the Australian federal government develops policies relating to data centers and AI infrastructure.
Environmental authorities raised concerns about environmental impacts in 10 areas, including water use and damage to Aboriginal sacred sites. The project plan includes the extraction of up to 4 billion liters of groundwater annually, gas-fired generation facilities and a solar farm. The overall project area is approximately 1,860 square kilometers, of which up to approximately 191 square kilometers is estimated to be potentially affected by development. Accommodation for up to 4,300 construction workers and an airfield are also planned.
The authority assessed that it could not place sufficient confidence in the effectiveness of the environmental impact mitigation measures presented by the developer. It therefore required the developer to submit a formal environmental impact assessment statement, or EIS, and decided to conduct further consultations with the federal government. However, it has not rejected the project itself, and no new review schedule has been confirmed.
Energy North also says maintaining the existing schedule would be difficult. The company plans to provide a revised project schedule once the environmental impact assessment requirements have been finalized.
Daniel Hunter, Energy North’s vice president for project development, said, "The June 2028 date was a provisional plan presented when the project application was submitted, and we are no longer pursuing the project to that schedule."
Other projects and infrastructure constraints
Other data center projects in Australia are also facing difficulties involving electricity supply and community opposition. According to Reuters, data center developer NextDC delayed the schedule for an approximately 250 MW expansion in Melbourne because of electricity supply problems. Australian property developer Goodman Group also withdrew an approximately 90 MW data center development in Sydney after encountering opposition from residents.
In addition to Project Ares, an approximately 2 GW data center is being pursued in the Northern Territory. The combined planned capacity of the two projects reaches 3 GW. That is approximately 10 times the peak demand of the Northern Territory’s entire power grid, prompting calls for scrutiny of fuel supply and environmental impacts even if on-site generation is used.
The case suggests that efforts to accelerate AI data center construction also need to focus on complying with environmental regulations and securing community acceptance. In South Korea, measures to support the industry, including simplified permitting procedures and electricity supply assistance, are being pursued ahead of the AI data center special act’s implementation in March 2027.
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In particular, analysts say South Korea also needs to examine electricity and water availability, environmental impact assessment and consultation with residents in advance when pursuing large AI data center projects. Even if permitting procedures are simplified, actual construction starts and operations could be delayed if environmental issues and community opposition remain unresolved.
Australian urban planning expert Adam Beck told Reuters, "Existing urban planning systems were not designed with projects of this scale in mind," adding, "Community concerns are growing and are having an actual impact on the development of AI data center projects."
Original Korean article: ZDNet Korea
English brief by Korea Wind Intelligence, koreawindintel.com
