Is your suburb on the list? The top 10 Australian councils with mega data centre plans

Exclusive: A western Sydney council is leading the charge with the most data centres either under construction or fully operational in the country, according to figures shared with nine.com.au.

Blacktown City Council – a densely populated belt of Sydney’s west that comprises 54 suburbs and an estimated 460,000 people – is now the epicentre of Australia’s data centre boom.

Data collated by RenewMap found the Blacktown local government area (LGA) has 16 data centres that are open or have broken ground on construction.

RenewMap uses publicly available data sources to track and map out current and future data centre projects.

Among them is the soon-to-be largest data centre in the Southern Hemisphere, a $3.1 billion behemoth under construction in Marsden Park.

This data centre has already ruffled feathers in the community, as residents question the power usage of a sprawling, electricity-guzzling data campus close to homes, schools and local amenities.

More than 3500 people have signed a petition asking NSW Premier Chris Minns to halt expansion of the buildings in the state, citing the Marsden Park project as being “rushed” with limited consultation with local communities.

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According to AMP economist My Bui, electricity consumption by data centres has doubled since 2020 and now accounts for close to 2 per cent of world electricity demand. 

“If new data centres rely mainly on existing supply, they could compete with households and energy-intensive industries such as mining and manufacturing, pushing up electricity prices and effectively limiting how quickly the sector can grow without weighing on the broader economy,” Bui said.

“Their round-the-clock demand (even when wind and solar output is low) could also keep coal- and gas-fired generation running for longer, delaying the shift to renewables.”

Western Sydney’s data centre surge is being closely mirrored further north in Queensland.

The City of Brisbane council area has the second-highest number of current and future data centre projects, with 15 facilities.

The NEXTDC B2 Data Centre in Fortitude Valley is the largest operational data centre in the Queensland capital.

According to RenewMap, developers are eyeing Brisbane due to its lower land and power costs compared to Sydney.

Rounding out the top three councils for current and work-in-progress data centres is the City of Wyndham in Victoria’s outer south-west.

This LGA’s crown jewel will soon be the 14-acre Stack MEL02 data facility in Truganina.

The local council is wary of the rapid data centre development.

Wyndham councillors unanimously voted to back a proposal that would provide a clearer road map for future data centre projects.

Mayor Mia Shaw said in July that residents deserved “greater transparency from the Victorian government about the planning and placement of data centres, along with stronger community consultation processes that properly assess impacts on local communities”.

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“Council remains committed to carefully considering all information relating to significant data centre developments,” Shaw said.

A spokesperson for the council told nine.com.au it would consider a report “examining the current and projected growth of data centres across the municipality, the impacts they may have on the community, and options for a formal council policy to guide future planning and decision-making” in October.

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has also drawn a line in the sand with proposed guardrails to manage the rapid expansion.

In September, he proposed a new data centre policy which would force facilities in the state to power their own renewable energy supply and storage.

Carroll also said new data centres will be prohibited from residential areas and will be built at least 150 metres from homes.

Trailing behind the top three councils is the ACT and Brimbank in Victoria, which both have nine operational or incoming data centres.

The City of Melbourne ranked sixth on the list with eight, followed by the City of Adelaide with six.

Willoughby, Parramatta and Ryde councils in Sydney have tied at the bottom of the top 10 list with five data centres apiece.

The council areas with projects in the pipeline have fanned out across the capital cities as developers look to expand on cheaper land parcels.

Ryde has more data centres under development than those that have been built.

Another three projects are slated for construction in Blacktown, while the City of Sydney is expected to host at least two facilities.

Top 10 number of data centres under construction and operating by LGA

• Blacktown, NSW (16)
• Brisbane, Queensland (16)
• Wyndham, VIC (11)
• Unincorporated ACT (9)
• Brimbank, VIC (9)
• Melbourne, VIC (8)
• Adelaide, SA (6)
• Willoughby, NSW (5)
• Parramatta, NSW (5)
• Ryde, NSW (5).

Top 10 number of data centres under development by LGA

• Ryde, NSW (7)
• Hume, VIC (6)
• Penrith, NSW (4)
• Melton, VIC (3)
• Blacktown, NSW (3)
• Lane Cove, NSW (3)
• Latrobe, VIC (3)
• Sydney, NSW (2)
• Greater Geelong, VIC (2)
• Whittlesea, VIC (2)

Australia’s current data centre capacity is predicted to skyrocket over the next decade.

According to the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), national capacity is projected to rise from 1.35 GW to between 4.7 GW and 7.4 GW by 2035.

Government guardrails are under development to strike a balance between driving Australia’s data centre economy and protecting the country’s energy grid.

“Data centres are critical infrastructure powering the modern digital economy,” CEFC head of infrastructure Julia Hinwood said.

“With the right policy settings and renewable generation, Australia can position itself as a leader in clean digital infrastructure – creating jobs, improving grid resilience, and driving innovation across the energy system.”

Nine.com.au has contacted the City of Blacktown and City of Brisbane councils for comment.