DCI Data Centers is planning a 20MW data centre for the Canberra market, and has secured agreement from Essential Energy to bring a 132kV power supply so the new facility doesn’t only depend on Canberra’s electricity supply.
The Tier-III, Zone 3+ secure edge data centre will be built in the Poplars Innovation Precinct in Jerrabomberra.
In response to burgeoning security threats and tensions with China, the federal government wants greater resilience and sovereignty in the facilities hosting its cloud workloads.
The Poplars precinct is pitched to the defence, space, cyber security and high-tech manufacturing sectors.
As well as DCI and Poplars, the Essential Energy supply agreement includes other power users intending to co-locate at the precinct.
“This new data centre is the first site to offer true resiliency in power provision that not only answers a call from the government to support their cloud first strategy, but will provide unparalleled security for our customers," DCI Data Centers chair and Brookfield managing director Udhay Mathialagan said in a statement.
“It will also be one of the major contributors in driving urban development within the new precinct."
The company said the new facility - codenamed CBR01 - will have an initial capacity of 20MW, with eight data halls and dedicated secure offices and storage over the four hectare site.
Due to be ready for service in 2024, CBR01 will be designed to minimise power and water use.
DCI currently operates data centres in Sydney and Adelaide, with additional sites under development in Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide and Darwin.
