Ever heard of the town Bundey?
Just two hours northeast of Adelaide?
The town recorded just three residents in the 2016 census, with that number dropping to none in the 2021 census.
So you’re forgiven for not having heard of it.
But that’s all about to change as Australian-founded and Nasdaq-listed major tech firm Iren have signed a deal to build a massive 800W AI data centre there.
The facility will be the largest data centre in Australia and the first built in the country by the company, which currently has four data centres in the US and Canada, with another two in development.
So why Bundey?
Well, the company says, it’s because Iren uses 100 per cent renewable energy – wind, hydro and solar – to power its centres.
A massive data centre is planned for Bundey, an SA town with no residents. Picture: Google Earth
And Bundey’s location – which has a recently-constructed major electricity transmission node linking several renewable energy zones – made it the perfect choice, Iren co-chief executive Daniel Roberts said.
“The Bundey campus is able to serve global and regional AI demand, as well as South Australia’s own growing need for AI compute,” he said.
The site’s abundance of clean energy helped it earn support from the state government.
South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas said the facility reinforced the state’s reputation as being an innovation hub.
“Data centres are a significant economic opportunity, which can bring high-quality jobs, stronger renewable energy infrastructure, and new opportunities for regional communities,” he said.
While property records list a number of property sales with undisclosed prices in the town in recent years, its most recent listing on realestate.com.au was a 146ha property in 2021 that sold for $245,000.
Iren’s Childress data centre in Texas is the company’s largest in operation. Picture: Supplied
There was one other listing on the site in 2018, with another three selling in 2011.
According to Iren, the project will create 500 jobs during construction and 200 ongoing jobs.
Goyder mayor Bill Gebhardt said the project – a staged development rolled out over eight years – was a boon for the area.
“We believe it’s a very good thing for our area because it’s going to provide employment and obviously that’s going to flow on to our schools, sporting bodies, volunteers, health providers, and there’ll be a flow on effect because there’ll be people employed in the nearby towns of Eudunda, Burra and Robertstown, so there’ll be lots of other jobs created because of it,” he said.
Goyder Mayor Bill Gebhardt on his farm at Mt Bryan. Picture: Brett Hartwig.
“I doubt there’ll be extra housing going in out there, but it will mean more people looking for housing in those towns, so there’ll be housing options available.
“It’s a marginal country area with 200mm of rainfall and it’s not prime agricultural land.
“People have been very concerned about the water usage but it has recirculating water so it’s one of the more modern data centres.
“The public support for it has been strong once they’ve known the facts about it, and once they know more about it and once they find out it has very little water use they’ll be even more supportive.
“That’s been their biggest concern.
“We believe it’s going to be a game-changer for the area.
“There are a few things battling in the area that you need that are very valuable, like schools, and we think it’s a lot of pluses for the area.”
There are more than 260 data centres currently operating across Australia, with many more slated for rollout in the coming years.
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