Urgent action must be taken to regulate power and water used by data centres to avoid burdening Australian households with higher costs, a study has found.
The race to build data centres in Australia could force household electricity prices up by as much as 26 per cent within a decade, a study has found. The artificial intelligence hubs could also use as much electricity as all homes in the state of Victoria by 2030.
The Climate Council issued the warnings on Wednesday in a report into the growing tech industry that has established 162 data centres across Australia, with another 90 planned.
The forecast comes less than a week after a NSW inquiry into the sector heard calls for a data centre coordinator, and following Greenpeace’s request for a moratorium on approvals so standards could be developed.
Data centres are booming in Australia as technology firms such as Microsoft, Amazon, AirTrunk and NextDC strive to meet demand for AI technology.
