AI data centres are booming in Australia - but at what cost?
Friday, 4 September 2026
Warm-up
- Where in your city do you notice big technology buildings or hubs?
- What apps or online services do you use every day?
- Would you accept noise or traffic if it brought new jobs? Why or why not?
Vocabulary
- suburb
- An area where people live that is outside the city centre.
- latency
- The delay before data moves from one place to another online.
- investment
- Money put into a project or business to make a future profit.
- renewable
- Energy that comes from sources like sun, wind, or water.
- alliance
- An agreement between countries or groups to work together.
- operator
- A company that runs a service or a facility.
- triple
- To become three times as large or as many.
- gigawatt
- A unit of power equal to one billion watts.
Reading
Australia is racing to build AI data centres. There are 162 already and plans for 90 more, with investment of more than A$155bn. OpenAI’s Sam Altman said Australia could be a data centre capital. But the costs are worrying locals.
In Sydney’s Lane Cove suburb, one centre sits about 350m from homes, and four more are planned nearby. Residents complain about humming and a jet‑like noise. In western Sydney, a proposed one‑gigawatt site would be the country’s largest single energy user. Another huge centre in Marsden Park is rising just 100m from a community.
Industry leaders say local sites cut latency and help build home‑grown AI firms. Australia offers land, stability, and the Five Eyes security alliance. It also counts about 13.6 million monthly AI users. But experts warn energy demand could triple by 2030 and power prices in NSW could be 26% higher by 2035 without more renewable supply. A Greenpeace Australia Pacific report also questioned some operator green claims.
Comprehension
- How many data centres exist in Australia, and how many more are planned?
- Which Sydney suburb has a centre about 350m from homes?
- What makes the proposed western Sydney site notable?
- Why do industry leaders want data centres in Australia?
- What energy risks do experts warn about for NSW and nationwide?
Grammar focus
So/such/too/enough
Use so/such/too/enough to show degree. Form: so + adjective (so noisy), such + noun phrase (such a large centre), too before an adjective for a negative result, and adjective + enough after for sufficiency. (Examples constructed.)
- Local generators are **too loud** for nearby homes.
- It was **such a large** data centre that it used most local power.
Grammar exercise
Circle the correct option in each sentence.
- The noise from the centre is (too loud / loud too) for residents.
- The company built (a big such / such a big) facility near homes.
- There was (much so / so much) energy demand last year.
- The land is not (enough large / large enough) for another centre.
- The planned centre is (so expensive / expensive so) that locals worry.
Discussion
- Do the jobs and services outweigh the noise and resource use? Why?
- Would you accept a data centre near your home if bills stayed lower?
- What rules should government set on water and power for centres?
- Is foreign investment in such projects welcome in your city?
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