CANBERRA, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- Electricity demand to power data centers in Australia is forecast to increase by almost sevenfold over the next decade, according to the energy market operator.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) on Tuesday released its annual electricity statement of opportunities report for 2026, revealing that there are 225 known data center projects around the country.
The report projected that data center usage in the national electricity market (NEM) will increase from around five terawatt-hours (TWh) currently to 34 TWh by 2035-36.
With that growth, it said data center usage would increase from three percent of power supplied through the NEM currently to 13 percent over the next decade.
Electricity consumption and peak demand are forecast to grow significantly as businesses and households electrify and data centers emerge, the report said.
Despite the looming increase in peak demand for electricity, the report found that the reliability outlook for future supply has improved, with record levels of new generation offsetting the loss of retiring coal and gas-fired power plants.
The report was released ahead of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese meeting with state and territory leaders on Wednesday to discuss the federal government's proposed national controls for data centers.
Under the federal government's proposed obligations for data centers, new developments will be required to include clean energy generation or storage to offset demand and to pay for electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure. ■