Proposed 2.4 GW Victorian AI Hub Draws Campaign for Full Environmental Review

Victoria is rapidly expanding its data centre pipeline with major proposals in Plumpton, Mickleham, and Clyde North to establish itself as Australia's leading AI hub. However, this expansion has triggered intense debate over resource consumption, as data centres are projected to use 6% of Australia's electricity by 2030 and massive amounts of water. While Premier Jacinta Allan targets AUD 25 billion in investment, local communities and federal MPs raise concerns over noise, zoning exemptions, and limited long-term job creation.

Plumpton datacentre proposal

• ▪Syncline Energy has proposed a 350-hectare data centre in Plumpton, Victoria, with a maximum capacity of 2.4 gigawatts
• ▪The proposed Plumpton data centre will use 40 percent of its site for four buildings, leaving 60 percent as open land
• ▪Syncline Energy plans to use solar, wind, and battery storage to provide additional transmission and grid stability for the Plumpton project

Community opposition concerns

• ▪Residents in Melbourne's western suburbs express concerns that data centres cause noise, lower house prices, and disproportionately impact lower socio-demographic areas
• ▪A petition calling for a full assessment of the Plumpton data centre's environmental and social implications has gathered over 3,600 signatures
• ▪A planning permit application for a 1.12 billion Australian dollar data centre in Clyde North received 13 objections on Casey City Council's planning portal by July 24, 2026

Consultation process issues

• ▪Syncline Energy Managing Director Phil Galloway stated the company is conducting a year-long community consultation process before submitting its planning application
• ▪Federal Members of Parliament Alice Jordan-Baird and Sam Rae released a statement questioning how the Plumpton project aligns with federal expectations
• ▪Casey City Council confirmed that Clyde North's Urban Growth Zone status exempts the data centre application from standard public notice and third-party appeal rights

Energy and water consumption

• ▪Sydney Water projected that data centres could consume approximately 87.5 billion litres of drinking water, or one-quarter of Sydney's annual supply, by 2030
• ▪University of Melbourne senior lecturer M. Reza Hosseini warned that high-wage data centre construction projects could divert specialized trades away from residential housing construction
• ▪Data centres consumed two percent of Australia's total electricity in 2025, with projections estimating this will rise to six percent by 2030
• ▪A one-megawatt data centre consumes an estimated 25.5 million litres of water annually for cooling purposes

Victorian government expansion policy

• ▪Victoria's development pipeline includes proposals in Mickleham, Truganina, Campbellfield, and Clyde North as part of its strategy to attract artificial intelligence infrastructure
• ▪Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced a Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan to unlock up to 25 billion Australian dollars in private sector projects
• ▪The Victorian Government's artificial intelligence mission statement positions data centres as the backbone of the digital economy and central to economic growth

Federal regulation framework

• ▪Prime Minister Anthony Albanese outlined expectations for the artificial intelligence industry, including mandating that data centres build in drought and climate change resilience
• ▪Federal and state inquiries into data centres began in mid-2026, amid calls for a moratorium on new developments until new regulations are established
• ▪The Australian Government's proposed framework would legally obligate large-scale data centres to underwrite new power supply and offset their energy demand