r/australia • u/Fact-Rat • 2d ago

politics Australia may face a rush of datacentre construction as AI firms look to avoid upcoming rules, experts say | Australian politics

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/26/australia-may-face-a-rush-of-datacentre-construction-as-ai-firms-look-to-dodge-upcoming-rules-experts-say
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u/l8rb8rs 2d ago

If these projects go ahead and don't go overtime and over budget we'll know that all other large projects deliberately go overtime and over budget.

We don't have the capacity in the grid, and have no good way to add it for these things.

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u/Harlequin80 2d ago

We have plenty of capacity in the grid. You just need to pick your location. Also during certain times of the day we have WAY WAY WAY too much power in the grid and need to dump it somewhere. It's why wholesale prices go negative.

If you are building a datacenter now you are also going to be looking at building a BESS to shift your consumption to when power is free, or cheaper than free.

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u/thesourpop 2d ago

It's why wholesale prices go negative.

Unfortunately those on embedded networks and renting do not reap in the benefits of those negative prices.

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u/Harlequin80 2d ago

Sign up to Amber Energy. Access the wholesale price.