Australia data-center power use seen rising sevenfold by 2036

Australia’s data-center electricity use is expected to rise almost sevenfold over the next decade, increasing pressure for investment in power generation and storage as aging coal plants retire.

The facilities are forecast to consume 34 terawatt-hours of National Electricity Market power by 2035-36, lifting their share to 13% from 3%, the Australian Energy Market Operator said.

AEMO said new capacity expected through the early 2030s would replace retiring generation and support demand, but investment after 2030 would be critical for reliability. About 13 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity and almost 2 gigawatts of gas generation are slated to retire within the decade.

More than a third of data-center projects listed by AEMO last year have since been canceled. The agency said about 9 gigawatts of new generation and storage reached full output in 2025-26, double the previous year.

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