Stop the Kurri Data Centre proposal
The issue
On 16/7/26, on behalf of a tech company named Airtrunk, ADW Johnson Planning submitted it's Scoping Report for their proposed Kurri Data Centre. Upon the old site of the Kurri Kurri Aluminium Smelter, they wish to construct a 540MW data centre. For context, in the past year NSW consumed anywhere from 5400MW to 10000MW at any given instant. This singular data centre will increase the state's power demands by 5-10%, elevating power prices even further. This may make it the largest data centre in the southern hemisphere, rivalled only by Airtrunk's 400MW SYD3 campus, and several proposal in Sydney. This statewide sacrifice will create a mere 500 temporary jobs during construction, 250 long-term jobs, and line the pockets of foreign investors. In comparison, the Tomago Aluminium Refinery (a more reasonable project of similar scale), while consuming 950MW, employs 1000+ staff, 200+ contractors, and produces 590000 tonnes of aluminium right here on Australian soils. This brings $2.2 billion into Australia each year, with over $800 million being spent right here in the Hunter Valley.
Naturally, it goes without saying, the noise pollution will drive away most of the surrounding fauna, threatening three Endangered Ecological Communities, and seven threatened species (including but not limited to critically endangered regent honeyeaters and swift parrots, with possibly 300-500 of the latter remaining on Earth). Airtrunk has a poor track record with it's data centres' noise pollution. It's SYD1 and SYD2 campuses are known to expose nearby residents (Lane Cove) to 50dB(A) during the day and 43dB(A) at night, for reference, the WHO advises background noise no louder than 30dB(A) for good quality sleep.
There is some merit to this project. The Scoping Report indicates the data centre will use closed-cycle refrigerants rather than guzzling drinking water to cool the servers. It will be built on already bare land (minimal bushland will be cleared in it's construction), and naturally there are few sites in NSW as favourable for such a project. One could argue it would increase Australia's and The Hunter's pitiful economic complexity too. Nonetheless, I do not believe it stimulates the local economy enough to justify it's insane power demands. For example, Tomago Aluminium, which consuming immense power, sources much of it's expertise, machinery, parts, etc locally. By contrast, Australia hardly produces computers. One would expect a data centre to import most of it's parts and expertise, contributing little to the local economy.
It took two weeks of dedicated research to discover Airtrunk is behind this data centre. Airtrunk was deliberately left off the proposal documents, ADW Johnson outright refused to tell me who their client was. We only know thanks to the efforts of the ABC. Interestingly Airtrunk's Sydney data centres are not listed on google maps. You can find SYD1 and SYD2 here. I have not yet found SYD3. This lack of transparency is worrisome. An ethical business has no reason to hide behind a contractor in their proposal, nor hide the location of their commercial enterprises. While Airtrunk was originally founded in Australia, it is presently owned by Blackstone Inc, an American company. This foreign business wants to plunder this state's power, parasite from local economy, and all-in-all be terrible neighbours. Will we let them? Hell. No.
Want to do more? Lodge a complaint through the NSW Planning Portal page once community consultation opens up! With enough support, I'll get to secure an audience with Dan Repacholi (the local MP), with 50 complaints through the planning portal, the proposal will be escalated to the Independant Planning Commission!
(Images taken from Kurri Data Centre Scoping Report, by SKM Planning. These images constitute fair use, I do not claim to own these images)
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The issue
On 16/7/26, on behalf of a tech company named Airtrunk, ADW Johnson Planning submitted it's Scoping Report for their proposed Kurri Data Centre. Upon the old site of the Kurri Kurri Aluminium Smelter, they wish to construct a 540MW data centre. For context, in the past year NSW consumed anywhere from 5400MW to 10000MW at any given instant. This singular data centre will increase the state's power demands by 5-10%, elevating power prices even further. This may make it the largest data centre in the southern hemisphere, rivalled only by Airtrunk's 400MW SYD3 campus, and several proposal in Sydney. This statewide sacrifice will create a mere 500 temporary jobs during construction, 250 long-term jobs, and line the pockets of foreign investors. In comparison, the Tomago Aluminium Refinery (a more reasonable project of similar scale), while consuming 950MW, employs 1000+ staff, 200+ contractors, and produces 590000 tonnes of aluminium right here on Australian soils. This brings $2.2 billion into Australia each year, with over $800 million being spent right here in the Hunter Valley.
Naturally, it goes without saying, the noise pollution will drive away most of the surrounding fauna, threatening three Endangered Ecological Communities, and seven threatened species (including but not limited to critically endangered regent honeyeaters and swift parrots, with possibly 300-500 of the latter remaining on Earth). Airtrunk has a poor track record with it's data centres' noise pollution. It's SYD1 and SYD2 campuses are known to expose nearby residents (Lane Cove) to 50dB(A) during the day and 43dB(A) at night, for reference, the WHO advises background noise no louder than 30dB(A) for good quality sleep.
There is some merit to this project. The Scoping Report indicates the data centre will use closed-cycle refrigerants rather than guzzling drinking water to cool the servers. It will be built on already bare land (minimal bushland will be cleared in it's construction), and naturally there are few sites in NSW as favourable for such a project. One could argue it would increase Australia's and The Hunter's pitiful economic complexity too. Nonetheless, I do not believe it stimulates the local economy enough to justify it's insane power demands. For example, Tomago Aluminium, which consuming immense power, sources much of it's expertise, machinery, parts, etc locally. By contrast, Australia hardly produces computers. One would expect a data centre to import most of it's parts and expertise, contributing little to the local economy.
It took two weeks of dedicated research to discover Airtrunk is behind this data centre. Airtrunk was deliberately left off the proposal documents, ADW Johnson outright refused to tell me who their client was. We only know thanks to the efforts of the ABC. Interestingly Airtrunk's Sydney data centres are not listed on google maps. You can find SYD1 and SYD2 here. I have not yet found SYD3. This lack of transparency is worrisome. An ethical business has no reason to hide behind a contractor in their proposal, nor hide the location of their commercial enterprises. While Airtrunk was originally founded in Australia, it is presently owned by Blackstone Inc, an American company. This foreign business wants to plunder this state's power, parasite from local economy, and all-in-all be terrible neighbours. Will we let them? Hell. No.
Want to do more? Lodge a complaint through the NSW Planning Portal page once community consultation opens up! With enough support, I'll get to secure an audience with Dan Repacholi (the local MP), with 50 complaints through the planning portal, the proposal will be escalated to the Independant Planning Commission!
(Images taken from Kurri Data Centre Scoping Report, by SKM Planning. These images constitute fair use, I do not claim to own these images)
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Petition created on 7 August 2026