As data centres have grown in size and number in Australia, they have also become the subject of fierce public debate. State and federal governments, as well as the tech industry, are pushing for new data centres to be rapidly built in addition to the roughly 160 that already exist around the country. But many local communities, from Perth to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, are pushing back.
The Conversation asked five experts whether Australia should pause building new data centres.
USSC Director of Strategic Technologies Olivia Shen says no:
Electricity demand from data centres is rising faster than the clean energy infrastructure and transmission required to support it. This is a challenge but one that won't be solved through a moratorium that slows down construction and investment.
Right now, companies are willing to pay a premium for data centres in locations like Australia with plentiful land and access to renewables. Their willingness to pay can help bring more renewables online and get operators to invest in sustainable technologies like battery storage and closed loop cooling that reduce water use.
A moratorium pushes those investments offshore and leaves Australia with less renewables and less digital infrastructure. Plus, it forecloses on Australia having a meaningful place in the global AI supply chain.
The data centre boom certainly needs to be managed. But calls for a moratorium are calls for perfection to be the enemy of good.