Syncline Energy Proposes 2.4GW Melbourne Datacentre as 3,600-Signature Petition Fuels Backlash
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 25
Syncline Energy Proposes 2.4GW Melbourne Datacentre as 3,600-Signature Petition Fuels Backlash
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 25
Summary
Syncline Energy is pitching a 2.4GW, four-building datacentre on a 350-hectare Plumpton site near Melbourne, with construction at least two years away while planning and environmental approvals are pursued.
140 hectares—about 40% of the site—would hold the facility, which would be larger than any operating datacentre in Australia and draw more electricity than Victoria’s Loy Yang A power station generates.
3,600 signatures on a petition and a 300-member Facebook group reflect local fears over power and water use, noise, environmental damage, house prices and the west becoming a dumping ground for heavy infrastructure.
Syncline says a year of consultation will precede any planning application and argues the scale is needed for sovereign AI capability, grid stability and buffers, while promising renewable power, batteries, jobs and community amenities.
30 datacentres already operate in Victoria and 30 more are planned, as federal and NSW inquiries examine whether the sector’s rapid growth could strain energy and water systems and force tougher national rules.