A large data center is being proposed outside Brisbane, Australia.

As reported by the Urban Developer, Northern Concept Swanb Pty Ltd has filed plans with the Ipswich City Council to develop a 10-story data center building in the Swanbank area of the city of Ipswich.

The facility would be located on 8 hectares at Lot 5 Six Leaf Street (formerly known as Patrick Street), near Powerlink Queensland’s Blackstone Substation and a planned 200MW battery energy storage system.

The currently vacant site is also in the vicinity of Swanbank Energy Precinct, which includes an operational E-Power Station (a gas-fired power station) and BESS.

The city of Ipswich is a local government area (LGA) located within the southwest of Greater Brisbane, Queensland. The project has been recommended for approval by city staff, subject to conditions.

Documents note the site could be expanded in future under a separate application. The gross floor area (GFA) of Stage 1 would be 103,955 sqm (1,118,935 sq ft) with 80,485 sqm (866,391 sq ft) of data hall space. Stage 2 would total 77,040 sqm (829,321 sq ft) with 56,130 sqm (604,192 sq ft) of data hall space.

A dedicated opposition website, StopDirtyDataDeals, is calling for local residents to protest against the project and write to local government representatives and demand a moratorium on data center developments.

“We get it. The world needs data centers to store our work, run AI and power everything we do online. But that shouldn’t mean a trillion-dollar industry gets to exploit weak regulation, steamroll our community and give us no say at all,” Josh Addison, a local campaigner and political candidate who set up the website, said in a Facebook post. “The practical concerns are very real. Its use of our water and power. The pressure it puts on energy prices, and the secrecy of pushing it through as a code assessable project instead of an impact assessable one who carries much greater scrutiny.”