AirTrunk Stares Down Critics of $3.7bn Hunter Valley Data Centre

The proponents of a $3.7-billion data centre on the site of the former Kurri Kurri aluminium smelter are preparing a response to a public exhibition as the sector faces down a week of turmoil. The 551MW server shed progressed by ADW Johnson and AirTrunk, about 32km north-west of the Newcastle CBD, comes alongside an announcement of more than a gigawatt of renewable generation and storage. It proposes to use 312 air-cooled chillers instead of a water cooling plant. AirTrunk associate vice president of energy Sabooh Whitelaw told The Urban Developer that “we remain committed to matching 100 per cent of our electricity use with renewable energy by 2030”. However, the majority of 759 submissions received to the exhibition are in objection, including one from the Cessnock Community Council. The 47,143sq m project is proposed for a 209,100sq m lot on the site that previously hosted the Hydro Aluminium smelter, which operated from 1969 through 2012. Demolition and remediation works have been undertaken—the remainder of the site is given over to manufacturing or logistics, or is vacant. Snowy Hydro’s Kurri Kurri Power Station, a 750MW open-cycle gas-fired electricity generator, is directly to the north. While that generator facility is the second-largest of its type in the country, Whitelaw said that “the proposed data centre would connect to the NSW grid and would not have a direct connection to the plant”. ▲ Whitelaw said that the Kurri Kurri data centre would draw from grid energy, not the neighbouring gas plant. On November 12, AirTrunk announced an agreement with European Energy Australia to progress 260MW of solar, 350MW of wind and 800MWh of battery storage in the Hunter region. “The intended structure is an offtake arrangement, with AirTrunk acting as the projects’ anchor customer”, Whitelaw said. “We are discussing a potential long-term power purchasing agreement with European Energy, but its terms have not been finalised. “The projects would connect to the network and supply the NSW grid. They would not be behind-the-meter at the data centre. The announcement is not for a standalone certificates deal.” Six emergency backup diesel generators with 2MW capacity and six 17KL generator tanks would be included in the data centre, along with a new connection to an existing 132KV transmission line. The closed-loop cooling system would mean the only potable and recycled water consumed at the site would be for staff usage, the application said, while the industrial location would support air quality and noise thresholds. ▲ The former aluminium smelter has been remediated for industrial and logistics uses. Among others, the Cessnock council’s objection raised a concern over noise and vibration from the air cooling plant and other equipment. “Having met the screening criteria the report does not give any further commentary or understanding of how this will be perceived in practical reality,” the submission said. Local businesses see coal transition pathway Port of Newcastle’s chief planning officer Geraldine Bourgarel wrote in her submission that the AirTrunk facility’s 1 per cent infrastructure contribution and potential investment in a community battery were welcomed by her organisation. “These initiatives have the potential to extend the project’s benefits beyond the site and support local communities,” Bourgarel said. Nepean Power general manager James Thorning said his company spent $40 million in local procurement annually and employed 150 people in the region with “significant electrical engineering, manufacturing, power distribution and infrastructure capability”. ▲ A vegetation buffer exists surrounding the former aluminium smelter site at Kurri Kurri. As the Hunter Valley transitions away from the coal industry, the region must “provide opportunities for these skills to be retained, adapted and applied to emerging sectors”, Thorning said. “[W]e believe the best pathway through the region's transition is to build on those existing skills. Difficult week for data centres The response to submissions comes amid a wave of data centre cancellations, with Quantum DC announcing a pause on a 1200MW server shed application on November 12. The Tungkillo Compute and Energy Hub project at 312 Collins Road in the Adelaide Hills would have included behind-the-meter gas generation for about 20 per cent of its demand. Earlier in the week, it was reported that Stockland had removed a data centre from its $2.6-billion industrial precinct on the site of the former Kogarah Golf Club , and that AirTrunk had dropped the Mars Road addition to its Lane Cove West data centre collection . ▲ Kurri Kurri residents and businesses are split over the proposed AirTrunk data centre. In April, industry analysts told The Urban Developer that the real estate model of data centres was shifting , to preference peri-urban sites rather than business parks. Meanwhile, NextDC announced on Monday, November 9, that it was pausing work on all uncontracted data centres, after community opposition stopped works supporting its M3 shed in Melbourne. The ASX-listed company entered a trading halt on October 19, and plunged over 40 per cent when returning to trading, but have recovered to their pre-halt price at time of writing. Shine Lawyers and Gordon Legal are separately investigating class action potential against NextDC on behalf of shareholders. Internationally, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang was embroiled in a scandal with geopolitical implications, after news broke of an extramarital affair with an alleged Chinese spy, and another with an Nvidia employee.

Data Centres
Patrick Lau
Thu 12 Nov 26

AirTrunk Stares Down Critics of $3.7bn Hunter Valley Data Centre

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