Goodman launches $2.5 billion, 126MW data centre project

Goodman Group has re-started the planning process for a major data centre site in the Cumberland council area in Sydney.

A prior approval process has been withdrawn in favour of Project Pluto, a 126MW facility.

A Goodman Group spokesperson told iTnews the data centre would target “the short-term needs of cloud operators and new market entrants”.

Project Pluto would have three stories, at 42MW per level, and iTnews understands the project is worth around $2.5 billion,

The 70,000 square metre site would be home to a 37,000 square metre building including offices, with more than 30 percent of the site to be landscaped, according to Goodman Group’s letter requesting the government to issue secretary’s environmental assessment requirements (SEARs) for the project.

The SEARs request shows a plan for 18 data halls, 600 racks per hall, and a density of nearly 12kW per rack.

“The site has the attributes that suit a data centre,” Goodman Group told iTnews.

That includes proximity to significant electricity infrastructure, with an Ausgrid facility opposite.

The site is currently occupied by Castrol Australia, which uses it as a lubricants facility.

The facility adds to something of a data centre boom in Sydney’s outer metro regions.

Since the start of the year, Goodman Group has kicked off a $1.4 billion development in Gore Hill, Macquarie Technology Group has had the go-ahead on its IC3 SuperWest build, and Arup started seeking planning approval for a $450 million build believed to be linked with AWS.