Australian governments notes need for AI companies to expand new energy and cooling technologies to help supply their energy-intensive data centres.Photograph: Amazon Web ServicesView image in fullscreenAustralian governments notes need for AI companies to expand new energy and cooling technologies to help supply their energy-intensive data centres.Photograph: Amazon Web ServicesAI companies could be forced to invest in renewable energy amid warning tech will use 12% of Australia’s powerAustralian government wants artificial intelligence industry to help expand power grid to supply their energy-intensive data centresFollow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet ourbreaking news email,free appordaily news podcastThe federal government could force AI companies to boost Australia’s power grid and build new wind and solar projects to help supply their energy-intensive data centres, amid concerns the booming industry could suck up vast amounts of electricity and water.Business groups, unions and the tech sector have welcomedthe federal government’s national AI plan, which maps Labor’s plans for a light-touch approach to regulating the sector in a bid to capture economic and productivity benefits from the technology.‘Enable workers’ talents’: no need for AI legislation in Australia, Labor saysRead moreBut tech experts have warned Australia has been too slow to set up guardrails and guidelines for AI, risking major harms and missing out on investment. With warnings AI tech could require 12% or more of Australia’s power, industry minister, Tim Ayres, promised a “co-requisite” for big firms to pull their weight.“I want to see artificial intelligence digital infrastructure underwriting and securing our energy future using these investments to pay for enhanced capability,” he said.Ayres’ decision not to pursue a new set of laws to govern AI, and instead rely on existing legislation, was welcomed by peak business groups eager to see the technology roll out faster.The Business Council of Australia called AI a “once-in-a-generation economic opportunity” to boost productivity and raise living standards, but CEO Bran Black was still critical that even the light-touch regulation foreshadowed by Ayres would “hinder the potential benefits”.Sign up: AU Breaking News emailThe Australian Council of Trade Unions welcomed commitments for unions and workers to be consulted about widespread workplace changes, claiming AI’s rollout had so far done little to improve working conditions, and instead had seen “Orwellian levels of surveillance” from bosses and more intense workplace conditions.“Workers aren’t afraid of AI but are rightly sceptical about letting it go unchecked,” said ACTU assistant secretary, Joseph Mitchell.Dr Sue Keay, director of the AI Institute at the University of New South Wales, said the government had been too slow to respond to growing concerns.“The plan rightly lists everything we should be doing, but fails to commit to any real investment or any sense of urgency,” Keay said.“It’s hard not to feel like we’re turning up to a global race in thongs, asking where the starting line is, while everyone else is already sprinting to the finish line.”The plan also noted the need to expand new energy and cooling technologies for AI systems, noting data centres consumed about four terawatt hours of power in 2024 – 2% of grid-supplied power – with the Australian Energy Market Operator having forecast that could rise to 12% by 2050.Concerns are growing worldwide overdata centres diverting large amounts of water and powerfrom local communities to be used in cooling systems. Ayres said the government would set out data centre principles in early 2026, pledging in a speech that “key co-requisites for data centre investment will include additional investment in renewable energy generation and water sustainability.”He noted Amazon Web Services was investing in three new solar farms to power its Australian infrastructure. In an interview on Sky News, Ayres said AI companies could be required to invest in storage or gas peaking.“This is an unparalleled opportunity for new data centre investment to underwrite, to pay for new generation and new transmission capability,” he said.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe Coalition opposition claimed there were “serious defects” in Labor’s plan, criticising a lack of detail on power generation, the commitment to include unions in workplace negotiations, and slow progress on reforms to privacy.“The economic opportunity which is AI will pass us by if Labor’s glossy document, which is scant on detail, lacking vision and absent of any action, is all they have to offer,” the shadow treasurer, Ted O’Brien, said.Australian government could explore using AI for cabinet submissions despite security concernsRead moreThe Greens senator, David Shoebridge, claimed the government was “choosing corporate profits over community rights” in eschewing new legislation.“The government is kicking kids off social media next week allegedly because of mental health concerns, but opening the floodgates to unregulated AI agents. That’s cooked,” he said.Ayres defended the decision not to pursue standalone legislation on AI.“The technology is advancing by the day. There are no guarantees that a “set and forget” regulatory approach would keep Australians safe,” he said.“An attempt at catch-all legislation risks doubling up on rules and undermining the efficacy and accountability of agencies and regulators on their important work.”Explore more on these topicsAustralian politicsLabor partyArtificial intelligence (AI)newsShareReuse this content