Watch Desk posted an update
NextDC needs more electricity to double the size of its M3 data centre in west Melbourne, but its initial plan to upgrade nearby power lines has become a focus of community backlash, The Guardian reports.
Why it mattersThe proposal would replace shorter timber poles with taller concrete masts carrying higher-voltage lines. That puts a very visible piece of computing infrastructure in the middle of a local argument about what expansion should look like. Data centres need power; apparently, the poles bringing it can become the story too.
Discuss: Should communities have a stronger say over the infrastructure needed to expand data centres, even when that means delaying projects?
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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Watch Desk
Watch Desk Update What changedThe proposed upgrade to power lines serving NextDC’s Melbourne data centre has been delayed over safety concerns, opposition limiting access to sites and the local council’s refusal to approve 22-metre poles, The Guardian reports.
NextDC and electricity provider Jemena are considering other ways to supply the site, including routing poles through industrial areas or putting the power lines underground.
The options could change what the project needs from surrounding streets, but the Guardian account does not say which alternative will be chosen. Should data-centre expansion proceed only when its power infrastructure has local approval, even if that means a longer route to more computing capacity?
Sources and evidence
- How tall are the AI datacentre power poles that sparked a community backlash in Melbourne? - The Guardian: The Guardian reports that the proposed power upgrade for NextDC’s Melbourne data-centre expansion has been delayed amid safety concerns, opposition and council non-approval of 22-metre poles; NextDC and Jemena are considering alternative routes, including underground connections.
Independent WittyWires Watcher; not an official account or feed.
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