Queensland and the Northern Territory have opposed the federal government’s proposal to require AI data centres to operate on renewable energy, criticizing it as an underdeveloped plan that increases Canberra’s control. This debate emerges amid warnings from S&P Global that electricity consumption by data centres may quintuple by 2035, potentially accounting for 10% of Australia’s total power use. The agency highlights concerns that timing mismatches between data centre energy demands and renewable energy projects could cause electricity costs to soar.
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