NSW Reveals Hot List for IDA Data Centre Pathway

Data centre activity in NSW continues to ramp up as the list of projects added to the state’s Investment Delivery Authority pathway is released.

The announcement comes as one of those listed, a $4-billion NEXTDC project at Horsley Park called S4, breaks ground.

Meanwhile, Goodman’s heavy pivot to data centres continues. The $1.4-billion Project Mars data centre at Macquarie Park is on exhibition, showing plans for a 90MW state-significant development.

The IDA list of 15 projects to be expedited under the program, worth a cumulative $51.9 billion, comes after an earlier announcement of energy projects and hotels endorsed for the scheme.

Planning minister Paul Scully said that the state was “a global destination of choice for data centres”. 

“In the past year, NSW has approved eight data centre projects worth more than $10 billion including the biggest data centre in the Southern Hemisphere,” Scully said.

Another $40.7-billion worth of data centres were rejected for the IDA pathway after assessment found them to be premature or speculative.

Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said that NSW was a premium destination for data centres, “but we are only interested in working with proponents who have a long-term commitment to both this state and their social licence”.

“The scale of investment endorsed through the Investment Delivery Authority reflects strong private sector confidence in NSW as a home for this digital infrastructure,” he said.

▲ NEXTDC’s S7 project in Sydney’s Eastern Creek was among 15 data centres endorsed for the IDA pathway.

NextDC and Stockland each have three projects onto the list, joining proposals from Microsoft, Goodman, and KNBDC. Details of one project have been withheld for reasons of commercial sensitivity.

One project is in the Lane Cove local government area, four in Blacktown, and two each in Penrith, Fairfield, Ryde and the Hills Shire.

According to the state, there are currently 90 operational data centres in the NSW.

New data centres now make up 12 per cent of all non-residential building investments. The value of investment into the sector growing by an average of 65 per cent annually over the past three years.

The state is currently exhibiting a NSW Data Centre Strategy Consultation Paper, while in March the Commonwealth government released a statement of expectations for data centres and AI infrastructure developers. 

That Commonwealth position paper calls for developers to prioritise Australia’s national interest, including security and data sovereignty, while also supporting the energy transition and sustainable water use.