Anthropic Leases Planned 2.16GW Renewable Data Center Campus in Australia
AI startup Anthropic has reportedly signed its first data center lease agreement in Australia for a planned 2.16GW compute campus. Located approximately 250km west of Brisbane, the site will be developed by Singapore-based Zerra DC and powered by renewable energy. This expansion highlights the global rush among AI labs to secure gigawatt-scale infrastructure to power next-generation AI models. Australia is quickly emerging as a key hub for AI compute due to its vast land availability and abundant solar and wind resources. The data center will cover its own grid connection costs and source electricity from renewable energy. However, the project arrives amidst local opposition and proposed Australian government restrictions on data center resource usage starting in 2027.
## BACKGROUND
Frontier AI companies require massive data center campuses with gigawatts of power capacity to train advanced large language models. As energy demands soar, tech companies are increasingly seeking locations with ready access to clean energy and land for physical infrastructure.