How much do you know about AI datacentres?
Every fact here comes from a public source, listed in the other versions.
How much power do they need?
Up to116%The low estimate: 95% of what Tasmania generates in a year.The high estimate: up to 116% — more than Tasmania makes in a year.
There's nothing left for the rest of Tasmania.
At full load, that's 78% to 94% of all the electricity Tasmania used in 2024-25.
All Tasmania's power vs everything it needs
Power in a year, datacentres at full load, based on 2024-25 figures.
Diesel backup, bushfire risk
Busy airports must have their own rescue and fire fighting service. Facilities like refineries must keep firefighting equipment and trained staff on site. Data centres need only hydrants and sprinklers for the fire brigade. That gap deserves serious consideration.
Up to202estimated road tankers of diesel in one day, top of a 149–202 range
If every proposed data centre ran on backup generators for 24 hours, they would burn an estimated 5.4–7.3 million litres of diesel, or roughly 5–9% of the diesel supply Tasmania reports holding.
The vegetation mapped around Bell Bay is dry eucalypt forest, adapted to fire, and Wesley Vale is also mapped bushfire-prone. A 2021 battery fire in Victoria took more than 30 fire trucks and about four days to control. Tasmania's fire service relies heavily on volunteers, and the SES doesn't fight fires.
Have your say
Opens the Tasmanian Government's consultation site.
Submissions close 12 October 2026.
Tell the government what you think.
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