Commonwealth says it will block gas-fired data centres

The Northern Territory government says federal plans to prevent the development of gas-fuelled power stations are "overreach". The Commonwealth wants to mandate the use of renewables and establish a national renewable energy offset policy for data centres, but Queensland and the NT disagree. What's next? The developer behind a major data centre proposal on the outskirts of Darwin has said it could partner with renewable energy projects, but did not say to what extent. Northern Territory government minister Josh Burgoyne has accused the Commonwealth of "overreach", after the federal government said it would block the development of gas-powered data centres. The federal government plans to mandate the use of renewables and establish a national renewable energy offset policy for data centres, but this has been rejected by the NT and Queensland. Federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen yesterday said the new laws would not permit any data centre proposal which relied entirely on gas, even if it overruled state or territory approvals. "If a data centre is proposed to only use gas, it will not meet the minimum national standards. And, it won't be able to register and it won't be able to proceed," he said. Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, speaking today in Darwin, said the federal government was committed to a nationally consistent approach to regulating the fledgling industry. Shadow Energy Minister Dan Tehan said the federal government should not force data centres to get their power from renewables, and developers should be able to choose their own energy mix. "The Beetaloo Basin [is an] incredibly important gas resource for this nation … why can't they use the gas in that resource?" he said. When announcing Beetaloo Digital's proposal for Darwin's rural area, managing director Alex Underwood said it could partner with renewable projects, but did not say to what extent. ABC Rural news daily Key stories of the day for Australian primary producers, delivered each weekday afternoon.