AirTrunk has announced an exclusivity agreement with European Energy Australia to progress renewable energy and battery infrastructure supporting its proposed data centre development at the former Kurri Kurri aluminium smelter site.
The proposed energy package includes:
| Infrastructure | Proposed capacity |
|---|---|
| Solar generation | 260MW |
| Wind generation | 350MW |
| Battery storage | 600MW |
| Battery energy capacity | 800MWh |
The companies are also progressing discussions around a potential long-term power purchase agreement.
Importantly, these projects have not yet secured all the necessary approvals or financing, and the arrangement is not yet a final power purchase agreement.
This is a significant development for the Australian data centre sector because it demonstrates how hyperscale operators are increasingly looking beyond conventional grid connections.
The combination of renewable generation, battery storage and long-term energy procurement could become an important model for future large-scale data centre developments.
It is also relevant to the debate about whether Australia’s AI infrastructure expansion can be supported through renewable energy rather than relying heavily on gas-fired generation.
