Spotswood Community Information

A data centre is a secure, purpose-built facility that houses computer servers and networking equipment.

These facilities support many of the digital services we rely on every day, including critical online banking, healthcare systems, education platforms, telecommunications, cloud services and business applications.

For Spotswood: the proposed facility would support businesses, government services and households across Melbourne. It is not a factory and there are no manufacturing processes on site.

Australia’s use of digital services continues to grow. Businesses, governments, schools, hospitals and households are using more cloud computing, online storage, cybersecurity services and digital applications than ever before. These technologies support many of the services people rely on every day, from online banking and healthcare to education, communications and entertainment.

As demand for these services increases, so does the need for secure, reliable and efficient digital infrastructure.

Having data centres located in Australia also helps improve performance, reliability and security. When information is stored and processed closer to the people and organisations using it, digital services can respond faster and more reliably. Keeping digital infrastructure onshore also gives organisations greater control over where information is stored and how it is managed.

For Spotswood: The proposed GreenSquare facility will provide the digital infrastructure needed to support Melbourne’s growing economy and increasing demand for secure, reliable and locally hosted digital services.

No. Data centres vary significantly in size, design, cooling systems, energy use and environmental performance.

This guide focuses on the design and operation of the proposed GreenSquare facility and the measures being taken to minimise impacts on the local community.

Selecting a site for a data centre involves a range of technical, planning and environmental considerations. These include access to electricity and telecommunications infrastructure, appropriate industrial zoning, and the ability to design and operate the facility while meeting planning and environmental requirements.

For Spotswood: The proposed site is located within an established industrial precinct. As part of the planning process, the proposal will be assessed against relevant planning policies and technical requirements, including traffic, noise, air quality and environmental considerations. Community feedback will also form an important part of the planning process.

Data centres require electricity to power and cool the computer equipment they house. By centralising computing infrastructure, they can often operate more efficiently than many smaller distributed systems. GreenSquare carefully considers how electricity is used efficiently and how it is sourced.

For Spotswood:GreenSquare is designing the facility to operate efficiently while also targeting to support and offset all energy used by the facility through renewable energy procurement as part of its long-term operating strategy.

No. GreenSquare will fund its own grid connection and the infrastructure required to support the facility.

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and VicGrid assess projects of this scale through detailed and onerous electricity network planning and modelling processes to ensure other users and forecast network needs are not affected.

For Spotswood:GreenSquare will fund the electricity network infrastructure required to connect and supply the facility. The costs of infrastructure built specifically for the project are not passed on to local or broader households or electricity users.

Yes. Large energy users can help bring new renewable energy projects online by providing long-term predictable demand that supports investment in wind, solar and battery projects.

For Spotswood: GreenSquare intends to support new renewable energy generation as part of the facility’s long-term operating model and sustainability commitments.

GreenSquare intends to align with any applicable federal and State renewable energy requirements and policy settings as they evolve.

Large data centres connect to the transmission electricity network through a regulated process managed by AEMO and VicGrid. This process ensures the grid is not impacted by these large connections and that the connecting data centres fund the infrastructure required to connect and supply power.

For Spotswood:  A transmission connection is proposed between the data centre and Brooklyn Terminal Station via underground cable. The project will coordinate construction with other projects in the area, including Hudsons Road Level Crossing Removal.

Backup generators are a safety system, similar to those used by hospitals and other critical infrastructure.

They are only used during emergencies or routine testing and are not part of the facility’s normal operation. Data centres have very reliable electrical connections, so the likelihood of an emergency is very low and unlikely to occur over the building’s operational life.

For Spotswood: The facility’s generators are designed to operate on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), a renewable diesel, rather than conventional diesel. The proposed electricity network connection for this facility is extremely resilient; therefore, backup generators are expected to be used very rarely.

Water is used in some form by most data centres as part of their cooling systems. Like laptops and smartphones, computer servers generate heat when operating, and that heat must be managed efficiently to ensure equipment operates safely and reliably.

The amount of water a data centre uses depends on its cooling technology and design.

For Spotswood: The proposed facility has been designed with a low-water cooling approach to reduce water consumption compared with many traditional cooling systems. It does not use traditional cooling towers. Instead, it uses a closed-loop hybrid cooling system that recirculates water and operates water-free for most of the year. Water is only introduced during periods of very hot weather to improve cooling efficiency and reduce overall energy demand.

Many modern facilities are designed to transition to alternative water sources when available.

For Spotswood: The facility is designed to accommodate recycled or non-potable water supplies in cooling, and GreenSquare intends to transition to these sources when they become available. To reduce our potable water demand, the facility has also been designed to harvest rainwater from its roof to supplement the water as part of its low-water cooling approach.

Yes. Like all computing equipment, servers generate heat while operating. Data centres use cooling systems to remove this heat and release it safely to the outside air.

For Spotswood: MEL1 will use a closed-loop cooling system with air-cooled chillers that release heat to the outside air, similar to how a car radiator releases heat.

The cooling system has been designed for Melbourne’s climate, including extreme summer and winter conditions. Detailed airflow and thermal modelling has been undertaken to assess how warm air will disperse from the facility, taking into account factors such as temperature and prevailing winds.

The roof chillers are designed to discharge warm air upwards, where it will naturally rise and disperse into the atmosphere. The modelling predicts that the facility will not create adverse localised heat or microclimate impacts around nearby residential areas.

Stormwater from a development must be managed to meet applicable Victorian planning and water quality requirements before leaving the site.

For Spotswood: Stormwater from MEL1 will be managed in accordance with the project’s Stormwater Management Plan. The site drainage system will incorporate water quality treatment and filtration to ensure stormwater leaving the site meets applicable Victorian planning requirements.

Treated stormwater will connect to the existing drainage infrastructure that ultimately discharges to Stony Creek. The existing downstream drainage infrastructure and outfall to Stony Creek are outside the scope of the MEL1 development.

During normal operation, data centres do not generate process emissions. Unlike manufacturing facilities, the data centre has no industrial processes or combustion associated with day-to-day operation.

For Spotswood: MEL1 will have backup generators to provide power if required during an interruption to the electricity supply. Like other combustion engines, the generators will produce exhaust emissions when operating and during periodic testing and maintenance.

The generators are being designed to use Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) rather than conventional fossil diesel. HVO reduces some emissions compared with conventional diesel and is considered a much cleaner fuel.

Potential air quality impacts, including operation of the backup generators, have been assessed as part of the project’s environmental assessment.

Backup generators are not used as a routine source of power. They are operated periodically for testing and when required during a power supply interruption.

For Spotswood: The generators will form part of the facility’s emergency backup systems, with their operation and associated emissions managed in accordance with applicable environmental requirements. The facility has been designed to use Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) for its backup generators, which can reduce emissions compared with conventional diesel when sustainably sourced.

Backup generators require periodic testing to ensure they are ready to operate if the electricity supply is interrupted.

For Spotswood: All generators will undergo testing before the facility becomes operational as part of the commissioning process. Once operational, they will be tested periodically as part of routine maintenance and will otherwise only operate when backup power is required.

Testing will be managed in accordance with applicable noise and environmental requirements.

Victorian EPA requirements determine noise limits through a site-specific assessment. The assessment considers existing background noise, nearby homes and surrounding industrial, commercial and transport noise sources.

For Spotswood: Independent acoustic specialists have measured existing noise levels and modelled the predicted noise from the facility during both normal and emergency operating scenarios, during the day and at night.

The predicted noise is assessed against the applicable EPA noise limits. Where required, mitigation measures are incorporated into the design for equipment such as chillers, generators and other significant noise sources to ensure the facility can meet those limits.

The assessment forms part of the project’s planning documentation and is undertaken in accordance with Victoria’s Environment Protection Act 2017, Environment Protection Regulations 2021 and the EPA Noise Protocol. No net impact to the community.

Modern data centres are subject to planning controls, acoustic modelling and noise limits.

Noise sources can include cooling equipment, mechanical plant and generator testing.

For Spotswood: The facility is being designed with acoustic treatments, equipment selection and operational controls to minimise noise impacts. GreenSquare will publish expected noise levels and undertake independent verification after commissioning.

The acoustic assessment predicts the facility will produce less noise than current ambient noise levels. The facility has been carefully designed not to contribute to local noise.

For Spotswood: The assessment considers existing background noise in the area, including traffic, rail and industrial activity, and predicts that MEL1 will comply with the applicable Victorian EPA noise requirements, including required factors of safety.

Fire safety is a fundamental part of the design, approvals, construction and ongoing operation of the proposed Spotswood data centre.

Qualified fire engineers and other specialist consultants will design the facility in accordance with all applicable Victorian legislation, the National Construction Code, relevant Australian Standards, and the requirements of the responsible building surveyor and Fire Rescue Victoria.

Data centres commonly use batteries as part of their Uninterruptible Power Supply, or UPS, systems. A UPS provides a short period of continuous electricity if the normal power supply is interrupted. This allows critical equipment to continue operating while the facility’s backup power systems start or while equipment is safely shut down.

These UPS batteries are not necessarily the same as a large, grid-scale battery energy storage system used to store and export electricity.

For Spotswood: Any batteries proposed for Spotswood have been selected and designed for their specific purpose, with the type, chemistry, quantity, location and protection measures all incorporated as a system safe to operate.

Where batteries are used, the design incorporates multi-layered controls to ensure batteries will be safe to operate, including:

• Equipment supplied by reputable manufacturers and independently tested to the most stringent applicable standards
• Limiting the number of batteries stored together and housing them in a fire-rated compartment
• Continuous monitoring of battery condition, temperature and electrical performance through dedicated battery management systems
• Ventilation and gas detection
• Fast-response fire detection and suppression systems designed to control fire
• Procedures for removing, transporting and disposing of damaged or end-of-life batteries

A safety system continuously monitors battery systems and assesses the health of individual cells, just as it does in a home battery or an electric vehicle.

If the system detects an abnormal condition, it can generate early-warning alarms or, if appropriate, isolate or shut down the affected battery unit before the condition escalates. The facility’s operations team can then investigate in accordance with established safety procedures.

Fire Rescue Victoria has published specific guidance for larger battery energy storage installations, including safety-in-design considerations, fire separation, emergency access and emergency planning. Where any part of the Spotswood proposal falls within the scope of this guidance, it will be addressed through the design and approval process.

Data centres use specific sprinkler systems designed to control the type of potential fire in that room.

Data halls with server racks have a sprinkler system that limits fire size to isolated areas. Enclosures with batteries will have a specific sprinkler system to control any potential battery-related fire.

The design incorporates systems to capture any potential contaminated water spills resulting from fire and avoid any runoff to the stormwater system.

Construction activity will generate temporary traffic associated with workers, deliveries and equipment.

These impacts will be managed through a Construction Traffic Management Plan with defined routes and operating hours.

For Spotswood: GreenSquare will implement a Construction Traffic Management Plan with defined routes, operating hours and mitigation measures. We will also work to coordinate activities with other major projects in the area wherever possible.

We recognise the Spotswood community has experienced significant construction activity in recent years and understand this can be disruptive for residents and local businesses. GreenSquare is committed to managing construction responsibly by minimising impacts wherever practicable, keeping the community informed, and providing advance notice of activities where appropriate. Construction traffic, operating hours, and site access will be managed through a Construction Traffic Management Plan, and we will coordinate activities with other major projects in the area wherever possible.

If approved, the project will be subject to a range of conditions, including environmental, fire safety and emergency management requirements. These conditions are designed to ensure the project is developed responsibly and to minimise impacts on the environment and surrounding community.

Before construction can begin, GreenSquare will be required to prepare a suite of management plans to address potential construction and operational impacts. These plans will cover matters such as noise, dust, traffic, waste management, site access and safety.

An Environmental Management Plan (EMP) Framework will also be developed to outline how environmental and community impacts will be managed throughout the project’s lifecycle. This framework builds on technical documents assessed throughout the application and provides assurance that potential impacts will be identified, monitored and managed during both construction and operation.

Generally, data centres generate significantly less daily traffic than many commercial or industrial facilities.

There are very few daily visitors and no retail activity.

For Spotswood: Once operational, the facility will generate minimal day-to-day traffic compared with many other industrial or commercial developments.

Yes. Data centres support construction employment during delivery and specialist operational roles once the facility is operational. They can also create opportunities for contractors, suppliers and service providers that support the facility over its lifecycle.

For Spotswood: The proposed project is expected to support both construction employment and ongoing operational roles. GreenSquare will seek opportunities to work with local contractors, suppliers and apprentices where appropriate throughout construction and operation.

GreenSquare is committed to building positive, long-term relationships with the communities where we operate. We recognise that the most meaningful initiatives are those that respond to local priorities and are developed through ongoing engagement.

For Spotswood: GreenSquare is exploring opportunities to partner with local organisations, education providers and community groups. We will also look for opportunities to support skills development, apprenticeships and initiatives that contribute to the long-term wellbeing of the local community as our community program evolves.

GreenSquare is committed to ongoing engagement throughout the planning, construction and operation of the proposed facility.

We will continue to share information, listen to community feedback and provide opportunities for residents to stay informed and ask questions.

Residents who wish to receive project updates can register to receive email communications about the proposal and future engagement activities.