A second massive data centre has been proposed near Wagga, reportedly bringing hundreds of jobs.
A second data centre proposal on the outskirts of Wagga has been announced.
Data centre developer IREN is beginning community consultation ahead of lodging a scoping report with the NSW government. The proposed 900MW Redbank Data Centre is expected to create more than 500 jobs during construction and more than 200 ongoing full-time positions.
The company plans to install a modern closed-loop cooling system designed to minimise water use, while contracting new power generation to offset electricity demand. IREN said the project would generate significant investment across the regional economy, forecasting payments of more than $200 million to Wagga Council across 30 years towards a community benefit fund, local infrastructure projects and council rates.
IREN executive director Lindsay Ward said the centre was needed as "community and business use of digital services is growing at a rapid pace."
"Data centres are the real-world physical infrastructure that powers our daily lives, and projects like Redbank Data Centre ensure we have computing power here in Australia," he said.
IREN plans to hold community drop-in sessions in Wagga on November 4 and 5, with venues and times to be advertised. The company said it was committed to early and ongoing consultation, promising to share details as the development progresses through the planning system.
"The council is looking to receive more than $200 million in levies and rates across the build," Mr Ward said.
Responding to water consumption concerns, the company said the facility's cooling system would recirculate water in a closed loop, similar to a car radiator, meaning it does not consume water. The project is to be built in stages across six to eight years and is expected to require about three megalitres, equivalent to about one Olympic-sized swimming pool, every six months during construction to fill the system. Once filled, annual top-ups for maintenance are expected to be less than 1 per cent of the total capacity.
To manage power use, the facility will connect to the existing high-voltage transmission network, with the project funding its own network connection. IREN said it also planned to contract new energy generation and storage projects to feed additional supply into the grid and cover its power requirements.
Noise emissions will be assessed as part of an environmental impact statement, with the company required to comply with NSW noise standards and introduce mitigation measures.
"We will not put additional stress on Wagga's housing as we will be building a workers' camp on the project site," Mr Ward said.
"We are attracted to the site as it is not on prime agricultural land, it's near an electricity network and Wagga has all the required support services.
"IREN has a good track record of employing local contractors, workers, and suppliers."
Founded in Australia in 2018, IREN is a Nasdaq-listed company that operates data centres and delivers artificial intelligence cloud services to technology companies, including Microsoft, NVIDIA, Together AI, Perplexity and Figure AI.