The delay adds to a run of setbacks that point to rising execution risk across Australia\u2019s (and global) data centre sector, where permitting, energy supply and community opposition are all lengthening timelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Listed developers and landlords such as\u00a0NextDC\u00a0and Goodman have already pulled back or delayed projects this year, and a regulatory hold on a project in one of the country\u2019s most sparsely populated regions suggests location alone will not clear the path. Slower approvals push out revenue for developers and could weigh on valuations that assume fast AI-driven growth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The setback is also a potential headwind for Northern Territory gas developers, whose demand outlook increasingly relies on data centre power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even a cattle station almost 700 km from the nearest city is not remote enough to escape regulatory delay, as Australia\u2019s data centre pipeline runs into planning, power and social-licence hurdles. And populist clap-trap too.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The developer of one of Australia\u2019s largest planned data centres has abandoned its target start date after the Northern Territory\u2019s environment regulator said it needed more time to set the project\u2019s environmental requirements, Reuters reported in an exclusive on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Startup Energy North had given a first power date of June 2028 for Project Ares, a 1 gigawatt gas and solar-powered data centre planned for a cattle station almost 700 km from the nearest city. In an October 7 ruling, the territory\u2019s Environment Protection Authority suspended its seven-week deadline for deciding which hurdles the project must clear. It said it would seek advice from the federal government, which is still developing policy expectations for data centres and AI infrastructure, and gave no new timeframe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Energy North told Reuters the 2028 date had been indicative and that it was no longer working to it. The company said it would confirm timing once the regulator set out terms for an environmental impact statement. It declined to identify its financiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The regulator\u2019s ruling on the roughly 190 sq km campus, which would include gas turbines, a solar farm, an airstrip and housing for 4,300 construction workers, identified 10 potential impacts, ranging from strain on water systems to disruption of Aboriginal sacred sites. It also said it had low confidence that the proposed measures would manage significant impacts effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The delay is the largest timing setback for an Australian data centre so far. It follows NextDC\u2019s decision this month to delay a Melbourne expansion over energy supply concerns, and Goodman\u2019s withdrawal of a Sydney project after resident opposition. One urban planner told Reuters that planning frameworks were not designed for proposals of this kind, and that community concern was increasingly affecting real projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The setback undercuts the Northern Territory\u2019s pitch that its vast, sparsely populated land and abundant sunshine make it a faster route for AI investment than Australia\u2019s cities. With the territory government reportedly in talks with 12 data centre-related projects, approval risk is becoming a central question for the sector\u2019s growth plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Investing Live<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Developer Energy North has scrapped a June 2028 start date for its 1 GW outback data centre in Australia\u2019s Northern Territory after the local environment regulator suspended its assessment deadline to consult Canberra. No new timeframe was given.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":90574,"featured_media":121725,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12785],"tags":[21490,5898,21491],"class_list":["post-588913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-data-centre","tag-energy-north","tag-northern-territory","tag-project-ares"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n