Miners Rest data centre leaves locals worried about water, power and noise

A new data centre could be built in Miners Rest, 10km from Ballarat. 

❓What happened: Resi Ventures and X2M are developing new energy precincts in regional Australia. The Miners Rest Renewable Energy Integration Precinct will be the first project to go ahead, pending planning permissions. 

🏗️ What will it look like: The data centre will be approximately 100 square metres, built on an old quarry site. The precinct will also provide battery storage, charging for heavy electric vehicles and an “anaerobic biodigester” to break down waste materials into biogas. 

🌏The bigger picture: There are about 300 data centres in Australia. 

Johanna Lim from the United States Studies Centre told our sister publication the Gippsland Monitor data centres will become “the backbone of the digital economy”.

• “They underpin our digital lives. They allow us to access the cloud, internet, banking apps, healthcare systems, transportation and use AI tools like Chat GPT and Gemini.”

More talk: Labor MP for Ripon, Martha Haylett, said: “Miners Rest families deserve to be consulted before decisions are made that could fundamentally change their local area”.

City of Ballarat said while council staff “have had early conversations with the developer, no formal applications have been lodged”. It said key considerations included traffic, noise and environmental impacts, and the views of the community.

The City also cited recent changes to legislation in Victoria that could see the Minister for Planning decide whether the project goes ahead. 

What people said: MacKenna Keating from Ballarat was among the locals who expressed concern about the project to the Brolga.

“I’m not keen,” she said. “I’m worried about power and water usage, as well as wastewater disposal and noise pollution.”

Header Image: realestate.com Miners Rest Quarry