No special carve-out for states using fossil fuel to power datacentres, Chris Bowen insists, despite new conditions

What happened

According to The Guardian’s source item, No special carve-out for states using fossil fuel to power datacentres, Chris Bowen insists, despite new conditions, Energy minister says states can apply to use coal and gas supply to power datacentres but must prove it is cheaper than renewables Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Chris Bowen insists federal Labor’s new national laws on datacentre power supply will not include carve-outs for Queensland and the Northern Territory, with states that are eager to use coal and gas required to make their case to the national regulator. The energy minister told Guardian Australia on Friday the only concession agreed at Wednesday’s meeting of national cabinet was that existing coal and gas supply could be used on the condition it could be shown to be cheaper than renewables. Continue reading…

Context

The development sits in VINI’s Technology file for readers following technology, science, product policy, markets, infrastructure, and the public consequences of innovation. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The source item is dated 2026-08-28T04:17:37+00:00.

What to watch

Open questions include whether primary sources issue follow-up statements, whether local or market impacts become clearer, and whether additional reporting changes the timeline or adds material context.

Source

Primary source: No special carve-out for states using fossil fuel to power datacentres, Chris Bowen insists, despite new conditions via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.