Quantum DC seeks approval for 1.2GW Adelaide data center campus

Quantum DC is seeking planning approval for a 1.2GW data center and power campus at Tungkillo, about 55km east of Adelaide in South Australia, with the first stage targeted to operate in 2028 and full build-out by 2031.

Plans call for three data center buildings, two substations and on-site natural gas turbines on 220 hectares at 312 Collins Road. About 120 hectares would be developed and the rest kept as grazing land. The company says the site would be built to Tier IV standards with closed-loop cooling to cut water use, and would not rely on diesel generators for backup power. Wind and solar would supply about 80% of the electricity the campus uses, with on-site gas covering about 20%, or roughly 240MW averaged across a 1.2GW campus. The turbines would run only when wind and solar output is low, the company says, not continuously, and the on-site generation would also push power into the grid at times. Battery storage projects co-located with the site are being developed separately, under separate applications.

For an investor sizing the 1.2GW project as a generation-and-load package, the consent decision sits with the planning minister, and the intermittently run gas turbines carry the site through low-renewable periods. The campus needs a development application through South Australia's Essential Infrastructure/Crown assessment pathway, while the batteries that would firm its supply sit in separate filings.

Opposition has formed before the application is lodged, with a Change.org petition against Tungkillo recording more than 1,600 signatures and a Facebook group opposing the project recording more than 3,300 members, Data Center Dynamics reported. Sarah Hanson-Young, a South Australian senator for the Greens, said: “Our beautiful Adelaide Hills are not the place for a power- and water-hungry data center.”

Tungkillo is Quantum DC's first project, led by Alby Tomassi, a Melbourne-based real estate developer. Firmus is also planning two South Australian sites: Tailem Bend, about 65km south of Tungkillo, at up to 1GW across eight buildings phased from next year to 2028, and Stirling North at around 1.3GW. Firmus and CDC ended their Project Southgate venture after building 42MW of a planned 1.6GW, as Private Wealth Daily previously reported.