AI may be transforming the technology sector, but its growth depends on something far more traditional: electricity.
The rapid expansion of data centres is forcing tech companies to think beyond servers and semiconductors, with energy supply emerging as one of the sector's biggest long-term challenges.
One response is to back new renewable generation directly.
On Monday, Google, European Energy Australia and Australia data centre operator AirTrunk announced they are preparing to bring the 25-megawatt Mulwala Solar Farm in regional New South Wales online, aiming to demonstrate responsibly built digital infrastructure by meeting “growing digital needs” with new renewable energy sources.
The project itself is relatively modest in scale compared with some of Australia's largest renewable energy developments. Yet its significance extends beyond the 25MW of new generation capacity soon to enter the National Electricity Market (NEM).
At a time when AI adoption is accelerating and data centre operators are scrambling to secure long-term energy supplies, Mulwala offers a glimpse of how the technology industry may increasingly fund and support new renewable generation rather than simply purchasing electricity from the grid.
AI's growing appetite for electricity
Around the world, governments, utilities and technology companies are grappling with the energy demands of artificial intelligence. Training and operating large AI models requires vast computing power, while the hyperscale data centres underpinning cloud services continue to expand.
Australia has emerged as an increasingly attractive destination for data centre investment, thanks to its stable regulatory environment, growing renewable energy sector and strategic position in the Asia-Pacific region.
That growth is already visible. Major operators including AirTrunk, Google, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft have continued expanding Australian infrastructure to support cloud computing and AI workloads.
But as digital infrastructure grows, so too does scrutiny of its environmental footprint.
Google's global target of operating on carbon-free energy around the clock has become one of the industry's most ambitious sustainability goals. The company said the Mulwala project forms part of its broader Digital Future Initiative and is designed to help ensure growing digital demand is matched by new renewable generation.
A blueprint for technology-backed renewables
The Mulwala development highlights an increasingly important trend across the technology sector.
Rather than simply purchasing renewable energy certificates or sourcing power from existing projects, large technology companies are increasingly entering long-term agreements that help underpin the financing of new renewable energy assets.
For renewable developers, such arrangements can provide revenue certainty and improve confidence to proceed with construction. For technology companies, they offer a pathway to secure cleaner energy supplies while demonstrating that expanding digital infrastructure is directly supporting new generation capacity.
AirTrunk chief customer and innovation officer Damien Spillane said hyperscale data centres could play a role in accelerating Australia's energy transition by supporting investment in new renewable energy and strengthening long-term energy security.
European Energy Australia managing director Catriona McLeod described the partnership as an example of how technology companies and renewable developers can work together to bring additional solar and wind generation online.
Digital infrastructure meets energy infrastructure
The announcement also reflects a broader convergence between Australia's technology ambitions and its energy transition.
For years, discussions around data centres and AI have focused largely on computing power, fibre connectivity and semiconductor supply chains. Increasingly, however, access to reliable and affordable energy is becoming just as important.
That shift is particularly relevant in Australia, where policymakers are seeking to attract more digital investment while simultaneously pursuing emissions reduction targets and large-scale grid decarbonisation.
Projects such as Mulwala suggest the two objectives may not necessarily be in conflict.
As AI drives another wave of digital infrastructure investment, the focus is increasingly turning to how the required power is generated — and who pays for the new infrastructure needed to deliver it.
The Mulwala Solar Farm will not solve Australia's energy transition on its own. But it does offer a practical example of how the technology sector's growing electricity demand can be linked directly to new renewable generation, rather than simply adding pressure to an already evolving grid.