Got a Licence for That?
Last week, we saw how efficiency matters in this equation; co-locating energy with data centres reduces grid pressures and decentralizes compute consumption. Renewable Energy Zones could be the ideal locations for regional development hubs that host new job-creating industries - like data centres.
However, despite the fact that 70% of farmers would consider hosting new energy infrastructure, the common media narrative is one of conflict and tension in the regions.
Moving the Mountain
Last week, we explored Gridlock — the transmission bottleneck in our national electricity grid.
Transmission is expensive though, and takes a long time to build. What if we bought the power directly to the data centres themselves?
Introducing Clean Cloud
Data centres could use 10% of Australia’s electricity by 2030—more than manufacturing (Morgan Stanley Research). Based on AEMO forecasts, CZI predicts an 11 TWh clean energy shortfall, likely to be filled by coal, prolonging its use (1-2 GW of coal capacity).
CZI’s project seeks policy, community and industry alignment to ensure Australia’s data centre opportunity is realised—carbon free
Solar Opportunities
Electricity consumption is forecast to surge by 48% by 2035 and 55% by 2050, according to Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) 2024 Integrated Systems Plan (ISP). This raises an essential question: where will we source the additional energy needed to meet this demand?