IREN shares early plans for Redbank, a proposed 900MW data centre campus near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales
Today, IREN shared early plans for Redbank, a proposed data centre campus near Wagga Wagga in regional New South Wales, with the local community. Redbank is in the early assessment phase. IREN is working toward a grid connection, and the project is not included in our announced 5GW secured-power portfolio. We’re speaking about it now to provide local residents with information on the proposal before we lodge a scoping report - the first step in the NSW planning approval process. Redbank has the potential to create local jobs and economic stimulus as well as community benefits for the Wagga Wagga area.
Context
Large AI data centre projects are spreading to regional Australia, though this one is early, lacks a grid agreement and sits outside IREN's secured power.
This is a first hand post from IREN, a data centre and cloud company with AI and crypto sites in North America and Microsoft as a major customer, according to DCD. The 900MW size, 2029 grid target and investment figure come from DCD and local press reports, not from the post itself.
Deep dive
On October 13, IREN posted that it had shared early plans for Redbank, a proposed data centre campus near Wagga Wagga in regional New South Wales, with the local community.
The company wrote that Redbank is in the early assessment phase, that it is working toward a grid connection, and that the project is not included in its announced 5GW secured power portfolio. It said it was speaking now to inform residents before lodging a scoping report, the first step in the state planning approval process, and that Redbank could create local jobs and economic stimulus.
DCD reported that the campus is planned at 900MW, with a grid connection targeted from 2029 and more than AU$10 billion of possible investment. It said IREN would fund transmission costs and contract new renewable energy and storage, and plans a closed loop cooling system to reduce water use. The site sits west of the Gregadoo Waste Management Centre on land with existing transmission infrastructure.
DCD noted that CDC is also planning a gigawatt scale campus in Wagga Wagga, and IREN is separately targeting an 800MW campus in Bundey, South Australia. The Daily Advertiser reported that the proposals are dividing opinion locally.
What to expect next
Watch for IREN's scoping report and the state planning process, and whether it secures a grid connection agreement for the 2029 target.
Also watch local reaction in Wagga Wagga, where competing data centre proposals are already dividing opinion, and whether IREN names customers for its Australian capacity as it expands beyond its North American sites. The project still needs state approval before construction can begin.