‘Not a playground to big tech’: New bid to halt controversial Adelaide Hills data centre
Moves to stop a controversial hyperscale data centre being built Tungkillo will be launched in SA Parliament today, after local backlash led to a community briefing being shut down.
A proposed 1200-megawatt hyperscale data centre and energy precinct at Tungkillo in the Adelaide Hills is being planned by Melbourne-based developer Quantum DC, raising significant backlash from the local community.
The data centre has received widespread opposition from the Adelaide Hills community, which reportedly led to a bomb threat shutting down a planned community briefing last month.
SA Greens leader Robert Simms will move a motion in parliament today calling on the state government to oppose a hyperscale data centre at Tungkillo, which he said would use “150 to 250 million litres of water during the construction phase”.
Simms will also demand a statewide moratorium which would see a temporary legal pause on the approval of new data centres across the state.
“The Malinauskas Government seems determined to turn our state into a playground for big tech, but nobody has explained what South Australians stand to gain from these enormous developments,” Simms said.
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“We’ve got a cost-of-living crisis, pressure on our energy system and growing concerns about water security. The last thing we need is a massive new development competing for our precious resources.
“Listen to the community and reject this Tungkillo proposal and put an immediate freeze on new data centres across the state.”
An online petition to stop the Tungkillo hyperscale data centre that was launched October 26 has since gained 13,510 signatures.
A letter from Quantum DC CEO Alby Tomassi said there had been “significant concerns about the project” from community members.
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This included whether Tungkillo was an appropriate location, with concerns about water use, electricity and energy infrastructure and impacts on farming land.
The proposed data centre is expected to use around 20 megalitres of water per year, while 80 per cent of its electricity needs would be met through wind and solar energy by connecting substations to existing ElectraNet power lines, according to Quantum DC.
Tomassi also outlined community concerns over “the River Murray International Dark Sky Reserve and night-time lighting, noise, traffic, bushfire risk, local ecology, Aboriginal cultural heritage, and whether the region would see a genuine benefit from the project”.
“Direct engagement is already under way. We have written to neighbouring landowners offering to meet with them, we are making direct contact with local community groups and organisations, and we have started replying to people who have written to us,” Tomassi said.
“Our team and specialist consultants are continuing to consider the feedback and questions received to date, including the detailed questions compiled on behalf of community members.
“This work is occurring alongside the preparation of specialist studies covering water, electricity and energy, noise, lighting, traffic, bushfire, ecology, heritage and other matters.”
Quantum DC intends to seek Crown sponsorship, which would see the application assessed through SA’s essential infrastructure pathway, with the Planning Minister responsible for the final decision.
But Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis told ABC radio this morning that Quantum DC have made “no serious attempt to contact the government about this”.
“I’ve got to say, I am not impressed by proprietors who are going out and causing all this angst without coming to the government first. I don’t think it’s a very professional way to conduct yourself,” Koutsantonis said.
“We are working on comprehensive legislation that would see a regulatory process in place that would benefit the grid, protect consumers, and make sure that our water resources are managed, as is the land where these data centres are built.
“The current process is insufficient, and the government is working on one.”
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