00:00Turns out Australia's AI boom could put a huge strain on the electricity grid.
00:04AEMO says that data centres currently use around 5 terawatt hours of electricity per year.
00:09But by 2036, that could jump to 34 terawatt hours, almost seven times more.
00:14That would mean data centres using around 13% of Australia's electricity grid, up from 3% today.
00:20There are now 225 data centre projects planned across Australia.
00:24The sheer scale and speed of this expansion is putting pressure on governments to work out who should actually pay
00:30for the infrastructure that data centres rely on.
00:32National leaders are set to debate new rules regarding their energy and water use.
00:37But Queensland and the Northern Territory are pushing back against some of the proposed requirements.
00:41But it's not all doom and gloom.
00:43AEMO says the grid outlook has actually improved, with record amounts of renewables generation and battery storage coming online.
00:50But all in all, while AI may be the future, the question remains.
00:55Will Australia's power grid actually be ready for it?
