Plans are afoot to build the country’s largest data center in Western Australia’s far north to support large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) training, including systems like ChatGPT.
Powered by wind, solar and natural gas, Project Meridian will provide approximately 240 megawatts of IT capacity and cost billions of dollars.
The ‘AI factory’ will be built in stages in Karadjari Country, south of Broome in the Kimberley, 2000km north of Perth, and is expected to open in 2032.
The Indigenous Land Use Agreement between Gingera Energy and the Karadjali Nation covers more than 30,000 square kilometers, of which approximately 275 square kilometers have been earmarked for development. (Provided by: Gingera Energy)
Gingera Energy is the joint venture company behind the project, and CEO Jop van Hattum said the project would be built on original plans. 240 megawatts of IT capacity.
“Ultimately the project will be four times that amount,” he said.
“The locations we choose allow us to install 1 gigawatt of IT facilities.”
Current state of data centers in Australia
An AI data center is a facility filled with high-performance computers used to train and run AI systems.
According to the WA Climate Council, there are more than 250 data centers in Australia, typically ranging in size from 5 megawatts to 10 megawatts.
The project will be significantly larger than a typical metropolitan data center and will serve a variety of markets.
“The data centers we’re looking at are much larger and are used to train large language models that services like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot use to answer specific queries,” van Hattum said.
Jop van Hattum presents information about Project Meridian. (Provided by: Jop van Hattum)
He said domestic customers for the project could include mining companies that would use AI training.
Internationally, Van Hattam said the facility could be of interest to Singaporean companies due to Western Australia’s geographical proximity and the potential for signals to travel quickly between countries via fiber optic cables.
“This is important because companies want real-time information,” he said.
Work with traditional owners
The proponent is a joint venture between Karadjali Traditional Lands Association (KTLA), Dutch geographic data company Fugro, and Australian geosciences company Longreach Capital Investments.
KTLA Chairman Thomas King said it was unusual for a traditional owner (TO) to co-own a project of this importance.
“It’s unique in the sense that traditional owners become partners in green energy projects that leverage renewable energy,” he said.
”I am not aware of any other TOs around the country working on similar projects of this scale.”
The project is backed by an Indigenous Land Use Agreement covering more than 30,000 square kilometers, with approximately 1 per cent of that area, or 275 square kilometers, earmarked for development.
different opinions
Mr King said the project was in line with Indigenous principles of minimizing impact on the country and the environment.
An indigenous land use agreement was signed with the Karadjari people. (Provided by: Jop van Hattum)
However, support for building the data center was not unanimous among KTLA members.
“As with any project that impacts the country and the preservation of our heritage, there are always elements of discomfort involved,” King said.
“That’s something we have to discuss internally so that the majority of people generally support it.”
Focus on sustainability
The data center will be one-story and form part of a larger complex near fields of wind turbines and solar panels, with batteries and some natural gas expected to power the facility.
Van Hattam said that contrary to the popular belief that data centers require large amounts of water for cooling, the facility will use a closed-loop system that recirculates the same water.
He said the system is different from the “evaporative cooling” methods used in other data centers, which require large amounts of water.
Kalahari Traditional Owners are one-third partners in the project. (Provided by: Jop van Hattum)
Van Hattam said the company will proceed with an environmental study in the coming months and then request an assessment from the Washington State Department of Environmental Protection.
Construction was scheduled to begin in late 2029 or early 2030.
