Australia’s Data Centres Could Draw 15 Percent of National Energy by 2030: Scientist

‘Within a decade or so, it could be the equivalent of the transport sector in terms of energy use,’ RMIT scientist Ascelin Gordon said.

A general view in the CERN Computer/Data Centre and server farm in Meyrin, Switzerland, on April 19, 2017. Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

Energy consumption from data centres in Australia could eclipse the transport sector within a decade, says one RMIT scientist.

Speaking to the Select Committee on Adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) on July 17, Ascelin Gordon, a senior lecturer at RMIT University and a research fellow at the Interdisciplinary Conservation Science Research Group, presented his findings on the environmental impact of data centres and AI.