The AI gold rush comes with a massive energy appetite.
US tech giant Anthropic, creator of the AI chatbot Claude, has revealed plans to build up to 5 gigawatts of data centre capacity in NSW, more than triple Australia’s entire current infrastructure.
Internal government emails show the company sought meetings with NSW officials in March, with CEO Dario Amodei visiting Sydney shortly after to sign a memorandum with the Albanese government.
The ambitious proposal would require tens of billions in investment and massive energy resources.
Australia’s renewable energy capacity, abundant land, and political stability have made it an attractive destination, particularly as Anthropic faces US regulatory uncertainty.
Meanwhile, national cabinet meets today to debate new water and energy rules for AI data centres amid growing community concern about their environmental impact and local disruption.
