$28bn off-grid AI data centre planned for Australian outback
A Singapore-headquartered developer has proposed a $28 billion off-grid AI data centre in the Australian outback, highlighting how the global race for computing power is forcing developers to bypass strained electricity grids with massive, gas-backed independent power plants.
Energy North has lodged a proposal with Australia’s federal environment department for Project Ares, a sprawling off-grid data centre at Murranji Station in the Northern Territory. The campus is designed to eventually scale beyond 5 gigawatts of computing capacity, starting with a 1GW first phase valued at roughly AU$11.9 billion. Bloomberg reports the full project could reach $28 billion.
To power this computing, Energy North plans to build 1,038 megawatts of gas-fired generation, 3GW of solar capacity, and 16 gigawatt-hours of battery storage entirely behind the meter. The gas would come from the nearby Beetaloo basin, tapping a remote resource that Canberra has long pitched as the centrepiece of a gas-led recovery. The company frames the gas as a transitional bridge, with the generation equipment described as hydrogen-ready.
The proposal illustrates the extreme lengths to which the AI industry is going to secure reliable power as grid operators run out of capacity. Around western Sydney, regulators have warned that data-centre capacity is close to exhausted, pushing developers inland toward cheap land and self-supplied energy. For European investors and tech firms, Project Ares represents a stark contrast to the continent's grid-dependent approach, where dense populations and strict zoning make building independent, gas-backed power plants virtually impossible.
The project also amplifies the tension between AI's immense energy demands and corporate climate commitments. While Energy North pitches the site as a green-energy development that will eventually run on renewables, it would begin life burning natural gas at close to a gigawatt. Similar promises to clean up power sources over time have been made by Nvidia-backed data centres elsewhere in Australia.
Project Ares is one of roughly a dozen data-centre proposals now lodged across the Northern Territory, a region seeing increased interest following Microsoft’s A$25 billion commitment to Australian infrastructure. The scheme has received Commonwealth Major Project Status to streamline federal coordination, but it still requires a decision under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. A final investment decision is targeted for 12 to 18 months after approvals are granted.
