Queensland, Northern Territory reject federal mandate for AI datacentres to use renewable energy

Australian states rejected the federal government's proposed requirement that power-hungry artificial intelligence datacentres rely on renewable electricity, escalating tensions over grid policy as analysts warn of rising power bills.

First covered Jul 28, 2026 · 8:19 PM PT · 1 article

Queensland, Northern Territory reject federal mandate for AI datacentres to use renewable energy — Image via theguardian.com

Coverage

6h Guardian Environment Queensland and NT reject Labor’s push to ensure that power-hungry AI datacentres use renewable energy — Federal-state stoush comes as rating agency warns that electricity bills could skyrocket Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates

More coverage from around the web

w.media Australian AI data centre framework faces state split over renewable requirements – w.media

wattsupwiththat.com Oops - Another Aussie State Just Forgot to Enforce Prime Minister Albanese's Green Data Center Mandate - Watts Up With That?

macrobusiness.com.au Data centres are incompatible with renewable energy targets - MacroBusiness

thenextweb.com Queensland and NT reject Australia's data centre energy rules

wattsupwiththat.com Queensland Defies Aussie Data Center Green Energy Mandate - Watts Up With That?

Appeared in: 2026-07-29 (#4)

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