On a cattle station deep in the Northern Territory outback, roughly 683km south of Darwin, a Singapore-headquartered developer wants to build one of the largest data centres in the southern hemisphere.
The plan leans on a resource the region has in abundance and the electricity grid does not reach out to supply: gas.
Energy North lodged the proposal, called Project Ares, with Australia’s federal environment department in June, and it is now open for public comment.
The off-grid campus would sit at Murranji Station in the gas-rich Barkly region, near the Beetaloo basin, and run on a mix of gas-fired power, solar, and batteries. It arrives as Australian regulators tighten the energy rules around AI infrastructure.
The numbers are large and, in one important place, unsettled. Energy North expects to invest about AU$11.9 billion in the first phase alone, according to Data Center Dynamics.
