Victorian Premier Ben Carroll released a Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan on 22 September that requires new data centres to supply new renewable generation and storage to match their demand1. They must also pay their own connection and network costs. The plan, released with the state's Minister for AI and Digital Economy, Anthony Carbines, says data centres should become "net generators not net users".
New sites may not use drinking water for cooling; where other water is not yet available, operators must offset their use and fund upgrades. They must sit 150 metres from homes and away from schools. Each also owes a "Local Investment Guarantee" of jobs, vocational training courses and parks.
None of it is retrospective, which means approved projects and eight applications already before the minister are exempt2. New South Wales took power in August to bar large loads from its grid; Victoria has now written the terms that decide who gets on.
