Authorities in Sydney have approved the construction of data centers without requiring measurable plans to cut water use, raising concerns the sector's rapid growth will leave residents competing for the resource.
The New South Wales state government, which presides over Australia's biggest city, green-lit all 10 data center applications it has ruled on since expanding its planning powers in 2021, from owners such as Microsoft, Amazon and Blackstone's AirTrunk, documents reviewed for this story show.
The centers would bring in a total 6.6 billion Australian dollars ($4.35 billion) of construction spending, but would ultimately use up to 9.6 gigaliters of clean water a year, or nearly 2% of Sydney's maximum supply, the documents show.
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