Large-scale data centres will be forced to invest in additional renewable energy to fuel their operations and avoid causing power price hikes in regulations agreed to by all but two states and territories.
The Energy and Climate Change Ministerial Council revealed its plans late on Tuesday after meeting to discuss advice on the issue from the Australian Energy Market Commission.
Climate groups welcomed the announcement and boost for renewable energy, but an organisation representing data centre operators warned the policy could be counterproductive if designed without their input.
The changes comes weeks after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced plans to require data centres to be powered by clean energy projects under a shake-up of artificial intelligence rules, and after a NSW data centre inquiry heard similar calls for action.
The council, which includes energy ministers from the federal government and all state and territory governments, met virtually to discuss data centre energy proposals after flagging the issue in May.
