Spotswood residents fight $1.47b data centre as Victoria sets new siting rules
Victoria's new data centre rules would likely block Greensquare's proposed 240MW Spotswood facility, but they do not apply to applications already lodged. Information Age reported that Greensquare may have withdrawn the proposal.
Residents of Spotswood in Melbourne's inner west are campaigning against a $1.47 billion, 240MW data centre proposed by Greensquare, just as the Victorian government introduces rules that would probably rule the site out. The changes do not apply retrospectively, so applications already lodged can proceed under existing arrangements, Information Age reported. Information Age also reported that Greensquare may have withdrawn the Spotswood proposal, with public consultation expected to restart if it is resubmitted.
Victoria's Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan, released in September 2026, sets a 150 metre buffer between residential buildings and new data centres and bans them on residentially zoned land. It also prohibits data centres in rural zones unless they sit next to critical infrastructure, and the government has committed to banning new developments in the Green Wedge Zone. Proponents must offset operational electricity use with new renewable generation and storage, cover all connection costs and join demand flexibility services to the extent commercially and technically possible. Facilities cooling with water are expected to use recycled or non-potable water or pay to replace the drinking water they use, and a statewide night-time noise limit of 55 A-weighted decibels applies. The Minister for Planning's statement of expectations covers permit applications lodged on or after 23 September 2026.
Greensquare, a Sydney-based company acquired by a Swiss private equity firm last year, applied through the state's fast-track planning process. That process removes the council from the decision and eliminates the ability to challenge the outcome at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The site is as close as 100m to homes and a childcare centre, about 7km south-west of the Melbourne CBD. Greensquare estimated the completed facility would create 130 ongoing direct jobs and outlined plans to cut water use and use renewable HVO diesel and battery backup. The company said it had engaged proactively with the community, distributing letters to more than 600 households and businesses in mid-July and holding information sessions.
Long-time residents Peter and Laura Russel say approvals should be paused until the new rules take effect. Laura Russel told Information Age she would be "furious if Greensquare is approved before these new protections come in". Peter Russel said, "There shouldn’t be any more approvals until these are in place," and described the issue as one that has become an election matter. The Russels said the information session was "framed very positively" and that answers were "deliberately vague".
Spotswood is one of several contested projects. A $1.1 billion data centre in Campbellfield is also moving through the fast-track process, and Greensquare abandoned a $1.1 billion Western Australian proposal earlier this year after community backlash. The Australian reported that NextDC's $2bn M4 project at Fishermans Bend was approved in 75 days with "no response received" from CitiPower or South East Water. NextDC said M4 is designed with closed-loop air-cooled technology using no water. Port Melbourne Action Group has also protested that project.
Commonwealth legislation is anticipated in early 2027, and the Victorian plan is intended to work alongside it. Detailed siting and design guidance is expected in 2027.