Quantum DC pauses 1200MW Tungkillo data centre bid after community backlash

Quantum DC has paused plans for a 1200-megawatt AI data centre at Tungkillo in the Adelaide Hills and will not seek development approval this year, after sustained opposition from the local community. The site is on Collins Road, about 41 kilometres directly east of the Adelaide CBD, and the proposal includes energy infrastructure. The Melbourne-based developer's Tungkillo Compute and Energy Hub would include on-site gas-fired power generation, according to 5MU. Bloomberg reported the project is the company's only one, according to its website.

Chief executive Alby Tomassi said in a statement: "We misread the strength of feeling about this proposal and acknowledge the first weeks of our early engagement created more questions than answers," and the company would now run a longer-term engagement program. Quantum DC said it has been contacted by more than 350 people, and the community submitted a consolidated list of 432 questions. The issues raised covered water, energy, noise, lighting and the night sky, traffic, bushfire, farming land, location and the local environment.

Two consultation sessions scheduled last month were postponed amid safety concerns, and locals held their own protest meetings that drew a few hundred people. The sessions rescheduled for November, including drop-in sessions at the Mannum Leisure Centre, are now cancelled. Tomassi said an open forum with 500 people and 432 questions would not be effective. Quantum DC said it will convene a panel of independent experts to review specialist studies and publish the findings. The pause does not mean the proposal has been abandoned, and Tomassi has not ruled out progressing Tungkillo in future.

Mid Murray Council Mayor Simone Bailey said the council has big concerns about the location, including proximity to a dark sky reserve, distance from a Country Fire Service station, limited access on unsealed roads, and effects on noise and the water table. Tungkillo resident Magdalene Lippett, who opposes the project, welcomed the pause. Northern Areas councillor Hank Langes said he would ask his council whether it would support hosting the project in its area, which covers Jamestown and Spalding.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said the episode showed the state needs a strict regulatory framework so data centres are not built, or even proposed, in places they should not be. AI Minister Chris Picton said the announcement showed why the government wants legislation through parliament. The Liberals, One Nation and the Greens welcomed the pause, while the SA government criticised the developer's consultation process, according to ABC News. The Greens called for a moratorium, and Greens leader Robert Simms moved a motion in the Legislative Council seeking a statewide moratorium and opposition to Tungkillo, following an online petition that passed 13,000 signatures. The Greens, One Nation and the Liberals united in the upper house on Wednesday to set up a parliamentary inquiry into data centres, which Labor did not support.

Data Centres Australia, which does not represent Quantum DC, said consultation timing is a trade-off. Chief executive Belinda Dennett said operators and investors want policy certainty, adding "The quicker we have certainty, the more viable I think Australia's going to be." Bloomberg described Tungkillo as at least the third Australian development to be waylaid in recent weeks, noting a Melbourne project delayed for NEXTDC and a Sydney project abandoned by Stockland. Further rallies and meetings are planned, including a public meeting at Tailem Bend on Monday 16 November about Firmus Technologies' proposed 1,000-megawatt data centre near the town.