A proposed AI data centre near George Town in northern Tasmania will go through a longer community consultation period after more than 120 people packed a public meeting to raise concerns.
Firmus Technologies, the company behind the project, has agreed to a 14-day extension.
The data centre would be built at Long Reach, on the former Gunns pulp mill site at Bell Bay.
It is one of three AI factories Firmus is pursuing in Tasmania.
The others are a $2 billion centre already under construction at St Leonards, near Launceston, while a third is flagged for Wesley Vale.
The George Town site would add about 300 megawatts of capacity.
Together with the Launceston centre, that would use close to 15% of the power Tasmania’s grid can supply, unless new generation is built.
George Town mayor Greg Kieser told Pulse the extension meant the council would now consider the application in August.
“We will do our absolute best to be engaging, as much as we can, given that our role in this whole process is only that of a statutory planning authority,” he said.
He said he had not yet reviewed the application in detail, as it would only come before councillors once meeting notes were circulated for pre-reading.
Kieser said the issue was polarising given the state’s energy transition and he was not surprised by the strength of feeling.
“What I’m hearing primarily from people is the larger state energy policy side, not so much the individual proponent side,” he said.
He said the council would judge the proposal on its economic value, but admitted it was “not an industry that is job creation heavy”.
The application proposes about 70 daytime staff and 25 workers on each of the evening and night shifts.
The community meeting was held in Exeter on Saturday.
Tamar Valley Business Association president Carl Cooper was among the speakers. George Town deputy mayor Greg Dawson and West Tamar mayor Christina Holmdahl also attended.
Holmdahl told Pulse there was a clear level of concern in her community that needed to be addressed.
She noted it was “disappointing that there wasn’t anybody there that could give the other side of the story”.
Holmdahl also said the West Tamar Council had not yet been briefed by Firmus, despite claims at the meeting that it had.
The development sits within the George Town municipality, but Holmdahl said nearby West Tamar residents were concerned because of the proximity of the Bell Bay industrial area to the western side of the Tamar River.
Greens MP Tabatha Badger said the extension to the consultation period was “welcome news”.
“Given how intensively AI and data facilities consume public resources, such as energy, water and data capacity, it is imperative that Tasmanian[‘s] have a say on their construction in our state,” she said.
A Firmus spokesperson said the company was committed to working with the community.
“Following discussions with George Town Council and feedback from the community, Firmus supports an additional 14-day extension to the public consultation period for its George Town site,” the spokesperson said.
“Our Tasmanian team will be hosting multiple community information sessions in the coming weeks and will continue to meet with local leaders.”
“We look forward to engaging with and listening to the local community.”
