Australian gas-powered data centre delays timeline after regulator stalls review

what happened

According to Reuters, Energy North, the developer of one of Australia's biggest planned data centres, has scrapped its target first-power date of June 28, 2028. The Northern Territory environment regulator suspended its seven-week deadline for deciding what hurdles the project must clear and gave no new timeframe. Energy North vice president of project development Daniel Hunter said the June date was an indicative schedule at lodgement and that the project remains on track.

The 1 gigawatt Project Ares would include a gas turbine system, a solar farm and accommodation for 4,300 construction workers. The regulator flagged ten potential impacts, from strain on water systems to disruption of Aboriginal sacred sites. Separately, Beetaloo Energy has proposed a data centre near Darwin that could use up to 400 terajoules of gas a day, about ten times the output of the only producing project in the Beetaloo Basin.

why it matters

For markets, this suggests that gas demand from new Australian data centres may arrive later than planned. Gas producers that depend on the Beetaloo Basin, such as Tamboran, would be affected by any slower approvals, so the timing and regulatory decisions matter here.

market impact

Australian gas: data centre delays push back possible demand growth for Beetaloo Basin gas

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