Anthropic asked New South Wales for 5 gigawatts of AI training capacity
Anthropic wanted to discuss locating up to 5 gigawatts of AI training capacity in New South Wales, exceeding Australia's current total data-centre capacity of 1.6 gigawatts. A Spanish draft would require new facilities to source at least 80 per cent renewable power every hour, while a US proposal would make emissions disclosure voluntary for data-centre generators classified as minor sources.
Artificial Intelligence··Evening
A 5-gigawatt approach from one company
Correspondence dated March 18 from Infrastructure NSW executive director Dena Jacobs shows Anthropic wanted to discuss locating up to 5 gigawatts of AI training capacity in New South Wales. Australia's current total data-centre capacity is 1.6 gigawatts, and the projection for 2030 is 3.9 gigawatts. The correspondence names no candidate sites. Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei travelled to Sydney and met the state government roughly two weeks after the note.[1]
Disclosure for generator emissions
The US environment agency's proposal would move public air-pollution disclosure for facilities classified as minor sources from a requirement to a choice for state and local officials. Data-centre campuses obtain permits generator by generator, allowing each unit to remain below the threshold for stricter federal review. Northern Virginia data centres have roughly 10,500 diesel generators approaching 27 gigawatts of combined capacity. Sierra Club calculates that Amazon's regional permits allow up to 4,200 tons of nitrogen oxides a year.[2]
Spain ties compliance to grid access
Spain's draft decree covers new data centres above 1 megawatt that are not yet connected to the grid and would require at least 80 per cent of their electricity to come from renewable sources in every operating hour. Matching renewable installations must be in place within the 18 months before each new megawatt begins operating. Projects already in permitting get six months to comply; failure would cost them their grid-connection rights without compensation.[3]
