Zerra files plans for $31b data centre campus
A 725-hectare cattle property in Queensland’s Western Downs is being lined up for one of Australia’s biggest digital infrastructure developments, with plans filed for a $31.9 billion data centre campus.
Singapore-based Zerra DC is behind the Western Downs Digital Park at 1933 Dalby-Kogan Road, about 37 kilometres north-west of Dalby and 250 km north-west of Brisbane.
The development application, lodged by project company WDDP Pty Ltd with Western Downs Regional Council, proposes four AI-ready data centre buildings, each with a 360MW capacity.
Together, the buildings would provide 1.44GW of IT capacity and about 195,000 square metres of data centre floorspace.
The initial four-building proposal would provide 1.44GW of capacity, although planning documents also identify two further 360MW buildings, potentially taking the campus to six facilities and 2.16GW.
The project would be delivered across four stages over about four to six years.
The $31.9bn figure represents the reported value at full build-out, while the economic assessment accompanying the application puts construction cost at about $14.5bn excluding GST.
Power play
The 725.5ha site is currently occupied by the 24,000-head Wambo Cattle Company feedlot.
It was selected in part for its proximity to major electricity infrastructure, with the Braemar transmission substation about 600 metres away and several gas-fired power stations and solar generation facilities nearby.
The site is also crossed by a 275kV transmission line, with a 330kV line about 600 metres to the south.
Phase one includes the first data centre, a proposed 540MVA substation and battery-backed power conditioning infrastructure.
The application proposes customer-owned switching stations operating at 275kV and 330kV, with electricity distributed through substations and underground infrastructure to the data centre buildings (continues below).
The campus is being designed around a low-water cooling model.
Zerra says it will use air-cooled technology rather than water-based evaporative cooling, with closed-loop systems, rainwater harvesting and recycled water also proposed.
The remote site is about 15km from the nearest reticulated water infrastructure.
Once operational, a completed data centre building is expected to require about 16.5 kilolitres of water a day, according to the infrastructure assessment, with each building requiring about 26.9 megalitres for the initial filling and flushing of its closed-loop cooling system.
The development would also include internal roads, parking, supporting infrastructure and temporary accommodation for up to 1500 construction workers.
Building is expected to generate about 1500 direct jobs with the completed campus forecast to support about 1400 direct on-site jobs.
The economic assessment estimates the project could generate about $760m a year in direct and indirect gross value added to the Queensland economy once operational.
The site sits within the Kogan East Special Industry Area, close to the Braemar power generation hub and other high-voltage infrastructure.
The application remains before Western Downs Regional Council and is subject to approval.
Zerra is also pursuing a data centre project at the former Ford manufacturing campus in Campbellfield, Melbourne.
Subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this page.
