Energy North Drops June 2028 Target for Project Ares After Regulatory Delay

Energy North has abandoned an indicative June 2028 first-power target for Project Ares, a proposed 1-gigawatt data centre in Australia’s remote Northern Territory, after the environment regulator paused its decision timetable, Reuters reported.

The developer had put forward June 28, 2028, in its earlier regulatory filing. Daniel Hunter, its vice-president of project development, told Reuters that the date was indicative and was no longer a schedule the company was working to.

Energy North says financing is lined up for the development, although Hunter declined to identify the prospective financiers, according to the report.

Environmental timetable remains unsettled

The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority said in an October 7 ruling that it was suspending its seven-week deadline to decide the project’s environmental assessment requirements. It sought advice from the federal government, which was developing policy expectations for data centres and AI infrastructure, Reuters reported.

The regulator did not give a replacement timeframe. Hunter said the company would confirm its schedule once the requirements for an environmental impact statement were set out.

The NT EPA’s assessment register identifies Energy North Pty Ltd as the proponent and places Project Ares at Murranji Station, about 52 kilometres north-west of Elliott. It lists a preliminary disturbance footprint of 19,150 hectares.

Water, ecosystems and cultural heritage in focus

The proposed campus combines data-centre infrastructure with solar generation, battery storage, gas-fired generation and support facilities. The regulatory documents describe a solar farm covering about 7,000 hectares, battery storage of up to 16 gigawatt-hours and possible groundwater extraction of up to 4 gigalitres a year from the Wiso Basin.

The NT EPA identified potential significant effects across 10 environmental factors, including groundwater, surface water, ecosystems, greenhouse-gas emissions, communities and Aboriginal sacred sites. Its statement of reasons said the available information did not provide sufficient confidence that the proposed measures would effectively manage potentially significant impacts.

Energy North’s official project page describes Ares as a proposed off-grid AI data centre co-located with its Project Sol renewable-energy development. The company says its schedule remains indicative and subject to regulatory and commercial outcomes.

Sources: Reuters; NT EPA assessment register; NT EPA statement of reasons; Energy North Project Ares.