Energy Insiders - a RenewEconomy Podcast Data centres and the grid
Aug 22, 2025
Andrew Walton, a seasoned data centre advisor with expertise in telecom and energy systems, dives into the evolving landscape of data centres. He discusses Australia’s current data centre capacity and compares various setups like co-location and hyperscale. Walton highlights the unique energy needs of AI workloads and the significance of Nvidia technology. The conversation also touches on site selection for training and inference centres, and how regional renewable projects might relieve crowded grids. Expect insights on future AI demand and the implications for the data centre industry!
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Career Path Into Data Centre Energy
- Andrew described his career path across Macquarie, Octopus and Metronode into data centre energy roles.
- He now runs a consultancy that bridges data centres and energy markets.
Hyperscalers Drive New Data Centre Economics
- Hyperscalers now dominate data centre demand and have different footprints to co-location providers.
- AI workloads demand far higher scale and different hardware than traditional cloud services.
Current Scale Of Australian Data Centres
- Australia had ~1,300 MW of data centre IT capacity in 2024, translating to ~1.6 GW on the grid after PUE and ancillary loads.
- Typical server utilisation runs ~55–60%, so actual continuous load is much lower than nameplate capacity.