A clean, quiet and green data centre campus

Built where the grid is strongest

Data centres are usually located where the power is. This site is one of the strongest points on Victoria's electricity grid - next to the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, one of the largest batteries in the world, with its own high-voltage connection. That strength is what makes this a different kind of data centre.

No diesel back-up generators. Most data centres keep banks of diesel generators for grid outages. Because the grid here is so strong - and the precinct sits beside major battery storage and firming - the Victorian AI Hub is designed with no diesel gensets on site. That means no diesel testing noise, no diesel exhaust and no diesel fuel storage near homes.

Natural and water-based cooling. Melbourne's temperate climate naturally cools the facility for around 85% of the year. On hot days, stored recycled water provides evaporative cooling instead of banks of refrigeration compressors - quieter, and a major saving in electricity exactly when the grid needs it most.

Land that can't be housing - and can't sprawl. The site sits under the Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay, which prohibits housing. It is bounded by the future Outer Metropolitan Ring corridor to the west and the rail stabling yards to the east. The precinct cannot expand beyond its boundaries - and it takes no land that could otherwise become homes.

And it belongs here for a bigger reason: the West deserves the upside. The Victorian AI Hub will be critical infrastructure for Australia's digital economy - around 11,000 construction job-years with a workforce peaking near 3,700 in 2029, and about 1,800 permanent operations jobs. High-paying work close to home means less time stuck in traffic and more time coaching local footy teams, volunteering, supporting the arts, or just enjoying family time. Local jobs equal local communities - and a chance to put Melbourne's West at the forefront of the global digital economy.

Why is everyone suddenly talking about data centres?

Melbourne has had data centres for more than 30 years. As we shifted our photos, emails, banking, entertainment and work life into the cloud, demand grew steadily. The technology improved too - storage and processing chips became faster and more energy efficient, and instead of cooling whole buildings, the industry is moving to cool the chips directly.

Then, in the last two years, we started using AI for everyday tasks - planning a holiday, translating a phrase, drafting an email, summarising a document. The same technology is incredibly useful for coding and engineering: you can build and test millions of alternatives to find the best drug, wind turbine design or water treatment operation. Super-computing power that was once held only by the biggest companies and governments is now available to anyone with an internet connection. It will need guard rails and regulation - but what we are seeing is the dispersion of powerful technology to the people.

The need for bigger data centres is driven by our daily use of these services - Australia's data centre capacity has almost tripled in the past five years, growth of around 24 per cent a year. By building one big, energy-efficient campus well away from houses, we can help retire the older, energy-hungry facilities in the suburbs - and return that land to housing.

On AI in society: we think taking 40 per cent of the mundane and tedious admin tasks off someone's plate could be a good thing. What becomes possible? What creativity does it unlock? But that is a much bigger debate!

No diesel. No drinking water. No shortcuts.

Cooling water: clean, Class B recycled water - never drinking water. Greater Western Water's Sunbury Recycled Water Plant produces more Class B recycled water in winter than the region can use. This is not sewage and it is not dirty water - it is clear, fully treated water that already meets EPA Victoria standards for uses like irrigating golf courses and ovals. Our plan: take some of that winter surplus, purify it even further in our own dedicated on-site treatment plant, build two large reservoirs on site to store it, and use it for evaporative cooling on hot summer days. No drinking water is used for cooling - ever.

Why does that matter for you? A data centre this size could be cooled entirely by electric refrigeration compressors - but on a hot summer day that would draw substantially more power at exactly the moment the grid is under most stress. Our engineering modelling shows water-based cooling saves around 220 megawatts of peak demand on an extreme (44 degree) summer day compared with a fully compressor-based design - roughly the peak demand of 90,000 homes running their air-conditioning. Evaporative cooling is also far quieter than compressor fleets.

Where the power comes from. The Hub's electricity supply will come from Victoria's declared Renewable Energy Zones - starting with power that existing wind and solar farms currently have to spill because it can't get to market, firmed with off-site batteries. We will build more new generation and transmission than we consume - and that extra supply puts downward pressure on power prices for everyone. If gas firming capacity is ever added, it would only be for the still, cloudy winter periods when wind is in drought - and it would use high-efficiency, quiet combined-cycle gas turbines. We are not yet sure such capacity is necessary, or whether it would be located on-site or off-site; that will be settled through the design and approvals process.

And a water dividend for the neighbourhood. The same pipeline works that supply the Hub can bring recycled water to Hillside, Plumpton and Kororoit precincts for watering parks and sports fields - and help fund a separate, more secure drinking water connection for Diggers Rest.

100 hectares or 50 MCGs given back

The site is more than 350 hectares of degraded private farmland - rocky ground with serrated tussock infestation, difficult to farm and closed to the public. At least 60% of the site will be retained as open space, and we will revegetate more than 100 hectares back to indigenous grassland, protected and managed for the long term, with public access for the community.

Our aim is to connect Hillside with the Plumpton and Kororoit precincts through cycling and walking trails across the site - linking open space, protecting drainage lines and creeks, preserving dry-stone walls, and celebrating the area's Aboriginal history through protection of significant places and interpretive signage. Buildings will be mostly single-storey, set back at least 460 metres from homes, behind landscaped buffers.

An Australian owned and headquartered company with a 25-year track record in delivering renewable energy projects

The Victorian AI Hub is a Syncline Energy project. We are an Australian energy infrastructure developer based in Victoria, and we have been building in this state for more than a decade.

We are the developers behind the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub - the neighbouring battery precinct, one of the largest in the world - and the 110 MW Bannerton Solar Park near Robinvale in Victoria's north-west, which supplies Melbourne's tram network. We are also the team behind the proposed Syncline Community Cable, an underground transmission project developed on a community-partnership model. The same philosophy guides the Victorian AI Hub: first design-out a project's impacts with smart engineering, share the benefits locally, and consult before deciding.

The Hub will create about 1,800 permanent operations jobs close to where people live - data centre technicians and engineers are advertised at $180,000 to $220,000-plus, well above the median wage - and around 11,000 construction job-years, with the on-site workforce peaking near 3,700 in 2029.

We will also establish two funds for the local community: a Community Benefit Fund, to make sure the benefits of our power supply and data capacity are shared with locals and help bring down their cost of living; and an Infrastructure Contribution Fund, to make sure roads and public transport are developed to support our workforce and the broader community.

Australia's data, on Australian soil

The Victorian AI Hub is local infrastructure with a national job. Every myki tap, hospital record, bank transfer and video call runs through data centres - and today too much of that capacity sits offshore, beyond Australian law. The Hub is part of fixing that.

Sovereign digital infrastructure. Australia's data, held in Australia, under Australian privacy law and Victorian environmental regulation - with the scale to run the AI workloads our banks, hospitals, researchers and governments will depend on. Local capacity is national resilience.

A stronger grid, not a drain on it. The Hub will contract more new generation and transmission than it uses - soaking up renewable energy that today is spilled, flexing its demand when the grid is tight, and cutting its own peak by around 220 MW on the hottest days through water-based evaporative cooling.

Jobs and industry for the West. Around 11,000 construction job-years with a workforce peaking near 3,700 in 2029, settling to about 1,800 ongoing operations jobs - plus the anchor tenant effect: AI and data businesses cluster around compute the way industry once clustered around ports and railheads.

Water infrastructure the region keeps. The Hub funds the treatment and pipeline works that bring recycled water to Hillside, Plumpton and Kororoit for parks and sports fields, and a more secure drinking water connection for Diggers Rest - infrastructure that outlasts any one project.

Land used well. Built on degraded farmland that can never be housing (Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay), with more than 100 hectares returned to indigenous grassland and at least 60% of the site kept as open space. No homes displaced; land handed back to the community.

Efficiency that retires old stock. One large, energy-efficient campus can absorb demand now served by older, energy-hungry facilities scattered through the suburbs - freeing that land for housing and cutting the sector's overall footprint.

Building Australia's digital economy

Local AI capacity means our children will have the tools to build new businesses, make scientific discoveries and connect with the global economy. The alternative is for Australia to sell our energy and raw materials overseas - and then buy back the expensive, value-added data and digital services from China, the US and Asia. We need local AI capability to lead the world in commerce, research and connectivity.

Five national standards. Five ticks.

On 26 August 2026, National Cabinet endorsed a mandatory national framework for large-scale data centres - nine governments, one rulebook, with legislation expected in early 2027. The Victorian AI Hub was designed to this standard before it existed:

Approved at every level - or not built at all

The Hub is assessed at every level of Australian government - local, state and national - under a policy framework that was strengthened in August 2026. Nothing is built unless each layer is satisfied.

Where we are in the process

Now (2026): community consultation and independent technical studies, and industry consultation on the new national standards through the Office of AI. 2027: studies lodged; formal advertised submissions through the Victorian planning process; national legislation expected. Late 2027 to 2028: assessment and determination. Construction only proceeds if approvals are granted at every level.

Consultation first. Approvals always.

Step 1 - Genuine consultation, underway now. We started with direct neighbours, and are now moving out to local information sessions in Hillside and Fraser Rise, then Plumpton, Diggers Rest and the wider West. We have logged every issue raised so far: around 60% are addressed by design work already completed (noise, water, power, pollution, fire), around 20% are questions we are asking the community to help shape (facades, setbacks, grassland design, infrastructure contributions, the community fund), and around 20% are bigger national questions about AI. We publish what we hear, and our responses.

Step 2 - Regulatory approvals. The project will be assessed by the full set of responsible authorities, including: VicGrid, AEMO, AusNet, the Victorian EPA, the Commonwealth EPA and EPBC Act processes, the CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria, Melbourne Water and the Catchment Management Authority, Greater Western Water, Melbourne Airport, and the Department of Transport and Planning / VicRoads. Independent technical studies - noise, water, air quality, traffic, ecology, bushfire and grid - will be prepared and assessed.

Step 3 - Formal, advertised planning submissions. Formal planning applications will be publicly advertised and exhibited, with referrals to authorities including the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (Office of AI), the Department of Transport and Planning, the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, and the Commonwealth EPA. Everyone will have the formal opportunity to make submissions - alongside our own continuing community sessions.

Step 4 - Finalise design and lock in approvals. The final design will be settled to reflect regulatory decisions and community input - and locked in through the approvals. No construction starts unless and until approvals are granted.

Indicative timeline: Later in 2026 - community sessions in Hillside, Fraser Rise, Plumpton and Diggers Rest; independent technical studies underway; design input on facades, setbacks, grasslands and the community fund. 2027 - studies completed and lodged; formal public exhibition and submissions through the Victorian planning process; design refined in response. Late 2027 to 2028 - assessment and determination by the responsible authorities. Construction only proceeds if approvals are granted.

Straight answers

Will I hear it from my house?

The design keeps noise low at its source: no diesel generators, evaporative cooling instead of large compressor fleets on hot days, plant enclosed and acoustically treated, and buildings insulated to comply with EPA Victoria noise limits at the site boundary. Homes are at least 0.8 to 2 km from fans and computer plant, with landscaped buffers in between. Independent acoustic assessment will verify the design before approval.

Will it use our drinking water?

No. Cooling never uses drinking water. For around 85% of the year the facility is cooled by outside air alone. On hot days it uses Class B recycled water - clear, fully treated water from the Sunbury Recycled Water Plant that already meets EPA standards for irrigation use, and which we purify even further in our own on-site plant before storing it. The same works can deliver recycled water for local parks and sports fields, and a more secure drinking water connection for Diggers Rest.

Is recycled water safe near homes?

Yes. Class B recycled water is not sewage - it has been through full treatment at Greater Western Water's Sunbury Recycled Water Plant and is already approved for irrigating golf courses and ovals across Victoria. On our site it is treated a second time in a dedicated purification plant, stored in two large on-site reservoirs, and used inside the cooling system. Water quality is regulated by EPA Victoria and the Department of Health's recycled water framework.

Will it push up power prices or take power from homes?

The Hub has its own high-voltage grid connection and sits beside the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub battery. It does not draw on the local residential network. Its supply will come from Victoria's declared Renewable Energy Zones - starting with power existing wind and solar farms currently spill - firmed with off-site batteries, and we will build more new generation and transmission than we consume. Its water-based cooling also cuts demand by around 220 MW on the hottest days, exactly when the grid is under most pressure.

What about pollution?

There is no diesel back-up generation on site - the most common source of data centre emissions near homes. If gas firming is ever needed for still winter wind-drought periods, it would use high-efficiency, quiet combined-cycle turbines, subject to EPA licensing - and may not be on this site at all. All emissions, discharges and construction impacts are regulated by EPA Victoria.

Couldn't this land be used for housing?

No. The land sits under the Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay, which prohibits residential development. It is also difficult to farm - rocky ground, small parcels and serrated tussock infestation. The site is bounded by the Outer Metropolitan Ring corridor to the west and rail stabling yards to the east, so it cannot expand.

What happens to the grasslands and wildlife?

We have surveyed most of the site, with winter, spring and summer ecology surveys continuing over the next year. Remnant habitat - native grasses, lizards, frogs and moth habitat in the rocky patches - will be identified and protected, the same way we preserved Striped Legless Lizard habitat at the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub. More than 100 hectares will be revegetated to indigenous grassland, and at least 60% of the site retained as open space.

What about fire risk?

Modern data halls have in-built detection and gas suppression at each rack, built to Australian and international standards. The site will have its own fire water storage and reticulation, plus managed fire breaks against grassfire. All designs require CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria approval.

What do local residents actually get?

More than 100 ha of publicly accessible restored grassland; cycling and walking links between Hillside, Plumpton and Kororoit; recycled water for local parks and sports fields; a more secure water connection for Diggers Rest; about 1,800 well-paid permanent jobs close to home; a long-term community fund; and contributions to fixing local roads and transport connections. We are asking the community to help shape the fund, the trails and the look of the site now.

Is the West a dumping ground?

We don't think so. The Victorian AI Hub will be critical infrastructure for Australia's digital economy. It will bring about 1,800 permanent operations jobs and many high-tech, skilled opportunities - and, we hope, put Melbourne's West at the forefront of the global digital economy. During construction we will need around 11,000 job-years of skilled trades, with the workforce peaking near 3,700 in 2029. This is high-paying work close to where people live. Instead of being stuck in the West's traffic, we hope our workforce will be coaching local footy teams, volunteering, supporting the arts - or just enjoying family time. Local jobs equal local communities.

Why does Australia need this at all?

Your data has to live somewhere. Banking, health records, myki taps and everyday internet services all run on data centres - and much of that capacity currently sits overseas, beyond Australian law. Built here, it operates under Australian privacy law and Victorian environmental regulation, with independent oversight, and creates skilled jobs in Melbourne's West. For the national policy picture, see the Office of AI, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Is the decision already made?

No. We are at the start of a roughly two-year planning and approvals process. Independent studies will be publicly exhibited, formal submissions will be open to everyone, and construction cannot start unless approvals are granted.

In the news

We haven't been great at explaining our plans and we know the community has concerns. Here is some of the coverage so far - and our door is open: contact@victorianaihub.com.au 

The Guardian, 26 July 2026 - read the article here.

Herald Sun (Leader West) - read the article here.

The Age, 22 May 2026 - read the article here.

More coverage will be added here as it is published.

Community information sessions in Hillside, Fraser Rise, Plumpton and Diggers Rest - dates to be announced. Email us to be notified of dates and venues.

Talk to us - this is the window to shape the project

Ask a question, request a fact sheet, book a one-on-one conversation, or tell us your views on the facades, setbacks, grassland design and community fund. Email us at contact@victorianaihub.com.au 

Victorian AI Hub - a Syncline Energy project, Holden Road, Plumpton VIC. Information on this site describes a proposal subject to regulatory and planning approvals; figures are design estimates that will be verified by independent studies during the planning process.

The site in context - planning overlays

The plan below shows the overlays that shape the site: the Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay (no housing), the Outer Metropolitan Ring public acquisition overlay to the west, heritage overlays, and the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub and Calder Park stabling yards to the east.