source : the age
Queensland’s energy minister has doubled down on a scrap with his federal counterpart over data centres, arguing centres shouldn’t be limited to being powered by renewable sources of energy.
Federal energy minister Chris Bowen this week said he would override states and territories that did not get on board with the Commonwealth plan forcing data centres to either invest in or generate renewable energy to operate, and not take energy from the existing grid.
Following a meeting of energy ministers last week, just Queensland and the Northern Territory were against the plan.
“We have been very clear, this is a national approach, and we will use national legislation,” Bowen said on ABC Radio.
He argued different rules in different jurisdictions would lead to higher energy prices and reduced reliability, driven by the sheer amount of power required for data centres.
“In our national interest is [they] worked within the constraints and the rules the governments of Australia wish to place on them to bring their own new renewable energy back by sensible firming arrangements,” he said.
“A ‘let them do whatever they want’ approach would see bills go up, reliability go down, and data centres dominate the energy system in a way that is not in the national interest.”
Speaking on Friday, Queensland Treasurer David Janetzki said he would not be swayed.
“We want to encourage data centres and make sure they are built in the right places at the right time, and how they’re powered should be an all-in solution,” he said.
He said the federal plan – not the state’s – would cost taxpayers.
“We’re not going to burden the Queensland taxpayer with uneconomic solutions to power data centres … if there’s a gas peak that can power a data centre, we don’t want to rule out that option,” he said.
A national cabinet meeting between the prime minister and state and territory leaders will be held on the matter in the coming weeks.
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