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Google’s First Australian Renewable Energy Project, Mulwala Solar Farm, Nears Grid Connection

Australian Financial Review

ENRICHED

Details

Date Published
1 June 2026
Priority Score
2
Australian
Yes
Created
1 June 2026, 12:00 pm

Authors (1)

Description

Google’s global infrastructure boss follows OpenAI chief Sam Altman in promoting Australia’s opportunity to be a global AI hub, if the policy settings are right.

Summary

Google’s global infrastructure lead argues that Australia must refine its policy settings to capitalize on a time-sensitive opportunity to become a global AI hub. The article connects the deployment of renewable energy projects, like the Mulwala solar farm, to the massive compute demands required for frontier AI development. While primarily focused on infrastructure and economic investment, the discussion underscores the global race for AI power parity and the role of national policy in managing the expansion of large-scale AI systems.

Body

TechnologyData centresPrint articlePaul SmithTechnology editorUpdated Jun 1, 2026 – 1.44pm, first published at 9.44amThe executive in charge of Google’s data centres says Australia’s opportunity to be an artificial intelligence hub will not last forever, as the tech giant assesses plans to increase the allocation of its $265 billion annual spending to the country.In a speech to The Australian Financial Review AI Summit in Sydney on Tuesday, Bikash Koley will echo OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman’s comments last week that Australia had a significant opportunity to attract huge investment if it had the right policies in place.Loading...SaveLog in or Subscribe to save articleShareCopy linkCopiedEmailLinkedInTwitterFacebookCopy linkCopiedShare via...Gift this articleSubscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? LoginLicense articleFollow the topics, people and companies that matter to you.Find out moreRead MoreData centresRenewablesGoogleMicrosoftChris BowenAnthropicAIEnergy transitionFetching latest articles