Energy company Jemena and infrastructure service provider Zinfra are completing a major upgrade to one of Melbourne’s largest data centres, doubling the power capacity at the NEXTDC M2 Melbourne Data Centre.
Jemena executive general manager of networks Shaun Reardon said this was just one of a number of projects underway to connect or upgrade connections for data centres across Jemena’s electricity network.
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“In the past two years we have seen a significant growth in the number of large technology companies looking to build data centres within Jemena’s electricity network in Melbourne’s north-west,” Reardon said.
“Data centres are physical locations that store much of the applications we use every day, from banking applications to Netflix. They also store critical data for technology, healthcare and finance, as well as the large amount of data and processing technology required for the growth in AI machine learning”.
“Data centres can also benefit the whole electricity network in the long-term by providing a continuous energy load that can help stabilise the grid through periods of high and low demand.”
To upgrade the NEXTDC M2 Melbourne Data Centre’s power capacity from 50MVA to 100MVA requires the upgrade of the substation currently being built.
Zinfra, which is the service provider carrying out the NEXTDC M2 Melbourne Data Centre upgrade, now has a team of more than 25 specialists who are dedicated to building the electricity infrastructure required to power data centres.
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Zinfra works program manager Michael Furolo said, “Zinfra’s in-depth capability in the construction of zone substations and critical electrical infrastructure makes it the perfect delivery partner to meet the increasing demand for data centres that didn’t exist two years ago.
“One of the biggest challenges with data centres is ensuring minimal disruption to existing operations while integrating the new infrastructure. Our team has to work around the clock, often in high-pressure environments, to successfully meet deadlines and maintain the centre’s uptime.”
