SYDNEY ¨C Authorities in Sydney have approved the construction of data centers without requiring measurable plans to cut water use, raising concerns the sector¡¯s rapid growth will leave residents competing for the resource.
The New South Wales state government, which presides over Australia¡¯s biggest city, green-lit all 10 data center applications it has ruled on since expanding its planning powers in 2021, from owners such as Microsoft, Amazon and Blackstone¡¯s AirTrunk, documents reviewed for this story show.
The centers would bring in a total 6.6 billion Australian dollars ($4.35 billion) of construction spending, but would ultimately use up to 9.6 gigaliters of clean water a year, or nearly 2% of Sydney¡¯s maximum supply, the documents show.
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