Amazon Web Services (AWS) will expand its digital infrastructure footprint in Australia, with plans to invest a new total of A$20 billion over 2025 to 2029. This is in addition to a A$9 billion investment in data centres from 2012 to 2023.
The new A$20 billion investment ensures Australia will maintain one of the world’s most advanced digital infrastructure models. It will support new applications of technology across Australian industry and enable organisations to innovate and deploy AI models, boosting economic resilience and productivity.
In addition to its new infrastructure investment and to support new and expanded data centres in Sydney and Melbourne, AWS is investing in the development of 3 new solar farms across Victoria and Queensland. This brings its total renewable energy portfolio to 11 Australian solar and wind projects.
Seizing the AI opportunity
AWS’s investment supports Australia to improve productivity and seize the economic opportunities that AI and other digital technologies offer.
The Australian Government has identified AI as a critical technology that will help drive the productivity of Australian industry. According to the Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources, AI and automation are expected to contribute up to A$600 billion annually to Australia’s GDP by 2030.
‘This is the largest investment our country has seen from a global technology provider,’ says Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. ‘It is an exciting opportunity for Australia to build AI capability using secure, resilient infrastructure. This is exactly the kind of economic investment in our nation that we want to see, and creates opportunities for continued innovation and growth.’
‘We’re proud to be expanding our world-class data centre infrastructure, bringing more renewable energy projects online, and supporting the country’s vision to be a global AI leader,’ says Matt Garman, CEO of Amazon Web Services. ‘AI is a once-in-a-generation transformation, and Amazon is pleased to be empowering all Australians to innovate at scale through this investment.’
AWS’s digital infrastructure investment will support Australia to seize the economic opportunities that AI and other technologies offer.
New renewable energy projects to support expansion
To support the data centre expansion, Amazon is investing in 3 new solar farms across Victoria and Queensland. European Energy will deliver and operate the new projects. Amazon will purchase a combined capacity of more than 170 MW across the 3 solar farms.
Amazon has previously invested in 8 solar and wind projects across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. These projects are helping power Amazon’s Australian operations, including data centres and fulfillment centres. Once all 11 renewable energy projects are operational, they are estimated to generate more than 1.4 million megawatt hours of carbon-free energy annually.
AWS matches 100% of its electricity consumption with renewable energy across its global operations, including Australian data centres, as part of its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Find out why Australia’s vast renewable resources, low energy costs, multiple subsea connections to the world, and supportive government makes it an ideal destination for green AI data centres.
Committed to building Australia’s digital skills
AWS has also invested in bolstering Australia’s AI and digital capability through AWS AI Spring Australia, a set of programs designed to accelerate AI adoption and capability across the nation. Initial initiatives include a program designed to grow early-stage generative AI startups, and a program to help Australian enterprises begin and accelerate their generative AI journey.
How Austrade helped
Austrade has facilitated the right connections between AWS and Australian Government representatives for discussions on AI opportunities, AI safety and cyber security policy.
Austrade has also worked with the New South Wales and Victorian Governments to help ensure timely delivery of the planned investment pipeline.
Roger Somerville, AWS Head of Public Policy, ANZ says: ‘A commitment of this scale requires close collaboration with Government, to ensure we deliver the infrastructure Australia needs. Austrade and the Australian Embassy have played a valuable role helping to connect the dots across a range of government and industry stakeholders over the past 2 years.’
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