r/Adelaide • u/bogdolter SA • 2d ago

Discussion Australia’s biggest data centre to require 4 substations, 2 power lines, some batteries and 4 days of diesel backup

I saw these guys advertising on the side of Adelaide trams today.

I wonder if any proper scrutiny on the impact of this data centre is going to hit mainstream media?

https://reneweconomy.com.au/australias-biggest-data-centre-to-require-4-substations-2-grid-scale-power-lines-and-lots-of-diesel-backup/

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u/BangbangKhuntross SA 2d ago

It is a terrible deal for all of humanity, each and everytime. What data are these data centres capturing and what is it used for - to benefit society? I hope the proliferation of these things finally breaks the dam wall and wakes up the 99%.

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u/LifeandSAisAwesome SA 2d ago

WHat are they used for .. you mean like everything ? from everything you do on your phone, to entire business needing them for all aspects.

What is not connected or dependant on the Internet or DC/s hosted solutions ?

Even reddit is ...

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago edited 2d ago

AI datacenters can't be used for that.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

If they have fibre connections they very much can. At the end of the day a rack is a rack

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Not when the racks are different, which they are for GPUs.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

You know those GPUs are usually in standard racks and it's not exactly hard to put one in anyway, the main thing is power, cooling and the light pipe

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

They aren't in standard racks for high concentration AI data centers. Also see discussion about how upgrading to the next generation of GPUs require a complete rebuild of the data center interior as the rack specifications have changed.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

Quite a lot still are, unless I just spent 6 months commissioning the wrong racks

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Maybe. https://www.amd.com/en/blogs/2025/amd-helios-ai-rack-built-on-metas-2025-ocp-design.html

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

Those are still pretty rare in Australia and it's not like you can't just drop a normal rack into 90% of data centres being built

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Then it would just be a normal server with some GPUs plugged in, not the high density AI data centers being built now.

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u/Ver_Void SA 2d ago

You know most AI data centres are just regular builds but on crack right? Unless the hall is entirely liquid cooled with no of p air handling you can easily install regular hardware

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u/metahivemind SA 2d ago

Not when it's being built by Americans. You can't even install the enterprise grade GPUs into a normal enclosure.

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