AirTrunk and European Energy to build renewables in the Hunter
Hyperscale data centre company AirTrunk and renewable energy developer, builder, owner and operator European Energy Australia have signed an exclusivity agreement to progress two renewable energy projects in the Hunter region in New South Wales.
The proposed projects include a 260 MW solar project, an 800 MWh battery project and up to 350 MW wind project in the Hunter–Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone. They say that together, they could add more than a gigawatt of new renewables generation and storage to NSW’s electricity system.
The Australian Government expects new data centres to secure new and additional clean energy generation and storage to offset their demand, while managing energy use and contributing to a secure and stable electricity grid. The NSW Data Centre Guidelines similarly expect operators to fund the additional energy supply and infrastructure their projects require, without shifting net costs to households, businesses or communities.
The companies are progressing project development and discussing a potential long-term power purchase agreement to support AirTrunk’s NSW energy requirements, including its proposed Kurri Kurri data centre campus.
“Digital growth must bring new energy with it. The Australian Government’s expectations and NSW’s guidelines set a high bar for the industry. This partnership is an important step towards delivering on that commitment,” said Robin Khuda, Founder and CEO of AirTrunk.
“It’s great to see AirTrunk and the tech sector embracing renewable energy — partnerships like this allow us to bring more renewables online and add more energy to the grid,” said Catriona McLeod, Managing Director, European Energy Australia.
The projects are expected to begin operating between 2030 (solar and battery) and 2032 (wind), with European Energy planning to connect them to Ausgrid’s upgraded 132 kV network in the Hunter–Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone. The connections will be subject to final connection arrangements, approvals and further technical assessments.
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