Datacentres demand huge amounts of electricity. Could they derail Australia’s net zero ambitions?

Experts are flagging concerns about what the data industry’s unfettered growth could mean for the energy transition and climate targets. Illustration: Richard Giliberto/The Guardian

Datacentre power demand in Australia could triple in five years and is forecast to exceed by 2030 the energy used by electric vehicles.

Datacentres now draw about 2% of electricity from the National Grid, about 4 terawatt hours of power. The Australian Energy Market Operator (Aemo) expects that share to rise rapidly – growing 25% year-on-year – to reach 12TWh, or 6% of grid demand, by 2030, and 12% by 2050.