The Labor government approved a controversial Microsoft data centre in Sydney worth $1.263 billion.
Located at 6 Honeman Close, Huntingwood, the five-storey building will cover 39,297 square metres and house 40 halls within a 96-megawatt footprint.
Total power demand is projected at 140 MW, with the site’s overall consumption capped at the same level and generator capacity limited to 133.4 MW.
The plan includes 46 diesel backup generators, up to 158,763 kilos of lithium-ion batteries and 1.532 million litres of diesel storage.
Generators may run no more than 187 hours annually, and only one can be tested at a time.
Situated in the Western Sydney Employment Area, the development is expected to create up to 250 full-time-equivalent construction jobs and 74 operational positions.
These roles will span construction management, electrical installation and ongoing facility operations.
The scale of the project highlights the accelerating demand for cloud services, while also prompting scrutiny of energy use and local ecosystem impacts.
The approval represents a major investment in the region’s technology sector and signals confidence in future digital growth.
Blacktown City Council initially objected, citing the project’s size, visual profile and effects on a nearby conservation zone.
Design revisions and proposed biodiversity measures led the council to withdraw its objection after council members raised concerns about potential visual impacts on surrounding residential areas.
Construction will clear about 0.33 ha of native vegetation, including 0.31 ha of critically endangered Cumberland Plain Woodland.
The remaining protected area will shrink from roughly 1.11 ha to 0.78 ha and must be preserved permanently.
Microsoft must acquire and retire 11 ecosystem credits and 24 species credits, or fund the Biodiversity Conservation Fund, before any clearing begins.
A federal assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is also pending, with public consultation ending on September 18.
The centre forms part of a broader Australian push.
The company announced in 2025 a $25 billion commitment to digital infrastructure, aiming to boost cloud and AI capacity by more than 140 percent by the end of 2029.
