Project Ares is a proposed 1GW hyperscale AI data centre campus with integrated renewable energy generation, co-located with Project Sol at Murranji Station in the Barkly Region of the Northern Territory.
Project: Ares
IT capacity
Full build total: 1 GW
Long term potential
5 GW+ subject to demand, approvals and future phases
Development stage
FEL 2 / Pre FEED complete; progressing toward FEED
Target FID
On receipt of final approvals
Target Phase 1 Power
12-18 months from FID (subject to funding and approvals)
Subsequent phases
Subject to approvals, commercial commitments and FID
Hyperscale Data Centre + Renewable Energy
Awarded Commonwealth Major Project Status
The project is being developed as behind the meter, off grid infrastructure, designed to meet the availability, security and sustainability expectations of global hyperscale customers.
The Opportunity
AI, cloud and high performance computing depend on physical infrastructure — land, power, cooling and connectivity — delivered at scale and over long time horizons.
Project Ares has been conceived to respond to this structural requirement by:
- Locating compute intensive infrastructure close to abundant renewable energy
- Reducing reliance on constrained urban electricity grids
- Providing options for sovereign, secure deployment of digital infrastructure within Australia
Rather than a conventional metropolitan data centre, Project Ares is designed as purpose built infrastructure, developed specifically for the operating requirements of AI driven workloads.
*image for illustration purpose only.
Project Characteristics
- On shore Australian jurisdiction
- Designed for availability, resilience and scalability
- Behind the meter, fully off grid configuration
- Security architecture aligned with Australian regulatory and allied nation expectations
- Connectivity into the Asia Pacific region via established Northern Australian fibre routes
"Energy North is not building just another data centre. We are building the specialised engine room for the AI economy — designed to Formula 1 pit lane specifications, not a suburban garage."— Scott Criddle, Energy North CEO & Founder
Technical Configuration
1GW IT Load
| Solar PV | 3,000MWp solar generation (primary energy supply) |
| BESS | 16GWh |
| Dispatchable generation | ~900 - 1,100MW Included for firming and availability |
| Availability standard | Tier III |
| Cooling | Water minimisation is a primary design principle |
| Grid dependency | None (off grid configuration) |
Gas fired generation is included as a reliability and availability mechanism, not as the primary energy source. The project design incorporates a framework for increasing reliance on renewable energy over time, subject to technology and commercial considerations.
Final design, capacity and configuration will be confirmed through FEED and regulatory processes.
Connectivity
Project Ares is located within reach of Northern Australia’s established and planned fibre infrastructure, including:
- International submarine cable connectivity to APAC via Darwin
- Terrestrial backbone fibre networks
- Potential lateral connections along existing infrastructure corridors
Final latency and routing characteristics will be confirmed as part of detailed network design.
Development Program (Indicative)
| Site selection | Complete |
| Baseline environmental and groundwater studies | Complete |
| FEL 2 / Pre FEED engineering | Complete |
| Commonwealth Major Project Status | Awarded |
| NT EPA referral | In progress |
| FEED | Targeted to commence following approvals |
| Community and stakeholder engagement: | Ongoing and staged |
| EIS process | Subject to regulatory determination |
| Target FID | On receipt of final approvals |
| Target COD | 12-18 months following FID |
All milestones are indicative and subject to regulatory and commercial outcomes.
Community and Environment
Energy North’s approach to community engagement and environmental responsibility across Project Ares is guided by the company-wide framework outlined in the Community & Environment section. Project-specific environmental considerations will be addressed through both the NT EPA assessment process and the Commonwealth EPBC Act, including detailed assessment of groundwater, vegetation, fauna and cultural heritage values.