South Australian Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis has joined Queensland Premier David Crisafulli and Northern Territory Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro in their plans to allow gas plants to provide energy for proposed data centres.
Koutsantonis told the ABC that he was “absolutely fine” with gas being used to help run the new large-scale data centres proposed in South Australia’s regions.
“We support the idea of gas use to firm data centres the same way we support the idea of gas firming our renewable energy right now,” he said.
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This sentiment is at odds with the Commonwealth’s plan to ensure data centres will be powered by renewables under new national standards.
Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has previously insisted there would be no “carve-outs” for jurisdictions such as Queensland and the Northern Territory, who want the option to use fossil fuels to back data centres.
Bowen told RenewEconomy the Federal Government would “legislate binding national standards for data centres across the country without exception, which will require 100% renewables backed by firming”.
Confusingly, however, Bowen conceded the rules could allow state-owned fossil fuel assets to make a case-by-case argument to power data centres with gas or coal.
The Climate Council has thrown its support behind the Commonwealth’s national standards.
“Australians are looking to governments to get this right. There’s a lot on the line—our energy security, the price of power and how much harmful climate pollution we lock in,” Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said.
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“People expect a fair dinkum deal, not a dud one that puts the interests of industry and big tech first. Renewable energy is already the cheapest and fastest option to build, so this is a question of whether data centres bring genuinely new clean energy with them, or soak up capacity the rest of us need.
“Clear and consistent national standards that deliver additional renewable energy, without any exceptions, is the only way to avoid higher power prices and pollution.”
