Australia pushes for renewable energy laws for new data centers

Australia wants its booming data center industry to pay for the clean energy it consumes. All of it. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s government announced plans to mandate that new large-scale data centers underwrite renewable energy generation equal to or exceeding their electricity usage, a requirement that would make these facilities net-generators of power rather than just massive consumers of it. The legislation is expected to reach Parliament in early 2027. Most states and territories support the initiative, though Queensland and the Northern Territory have pushed back. The policy also requires data centers to cover 100% of their grid connection costs, a provision designed to ensure that households don’t end up subsidizing the infrastructure buildout for an industry that primarily serves corporate clients and hyperscalers. Why this matters for crypto and AI infrastructure IREN, formerly known as Iris Energy, has been pivoting from Bitcoin mining toward AI-focused high-performance computing, and it recently announced plans for an 800 MW data center campus in Bundey, South Australia. That project is one of the largest directly affected by the upcoming regulations. Under the ne...