Western Sydney has the largest concentration of proposed data centre capacity in Australia. Within a few kilometres of each other around Eastern Creek, Kemps Creek, Erskine Park and Horsley Park, current planning applications include:
- AirTrunk's Mamre Road campus (1 GW to 1.2 GW, depending on the document)
- NEXTDC S7 (612 MW)
- Goodman's Project Atlas (500 MVA)
- STACK SYD01 (450 MW)
- NEXTDC S4 (365 MW)
- CDC KC1 (144 MW)
Operating and under-construction campuses sit alongside them, including CDC Eastern Creek, CDC Marsden Park, AirTrunk's Huntingwood campuses and Microsoft Kemps Creek.
Transgrid has received more than 10 GW of data centre connection enquiries within 12 km of its Sydney West substation since late 2024. That is roughly the peak winter demand of the whole state. Grid capacity, not land, now decides which of these projects proceed.
Why Western Sydney Is Attracting Data Centres
| Factor | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Industrial land | Large industrial lots in the Mamre Road precinct, the Western Sydney Employment Area and the Fitzpatrick Industrial Estate (Erskine Park). STACK's site is zoned IN1 General Industrial. Sites range from 7.7 ha (STACK) to 88.4 ha (CDC KC1) |
| Transmission | Proximity to Transgrid's Sydney West substation and the 330 kV network. Transgrid has proposed a South Creek substation that could add about 2 GW of capacity, per w.media |
| Connectivity | Diverse fibre routes back to interconnection points in the Sydney CBD, Alexandria and Mascot |
| Access | M4, M7 and Westlink corridors for heavy equipment delivery |
| Existing clusters | Once one hyperscale campus operates in a precinct, fibre, substations and contractors are already in place for the next |
The same concentration creates the main risks: cumulative noise, generator emissions, water servicing and grid capacity. Each of these is now raised in planning submissions (see below).
Eastern Creek Data Centre Projects
Eastern Creek, in Blacktown City, is the most established Western Sydney data centre precinct.
| Project | Developer | Capacity | Stage | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NEXTDC S7 | NEXTDC | 612 MW (planning) / 650 MW (NEXTDC) | Prepare EIS | SSD-113934740 |
| Goodman Project Atlas, 10 Roberts Road | Goodman Group | 500 MVA | Response to submissions | SSD-101067971 |
| CDC Eastern Creek campus | CDC Data Centres | 123 MW across EC1 to EC4 (at launch); two more buildings adding 108 MW proposed | Operating, expansion planned | iTnews |
NEXTDC S7. The NSW Planning Portal describes three two-storey data storage buildings, 340 backup diesel generators, diesel fuel storage and an on-site substation on a 25.5 ha site acquired in October 2024. NEXTDC and OpenAI signed a non-binding MoU in December 2025 for an AI campus at the site, with the first phase targeted for the second half of 2027, subject to approvals.
Goodman Project Atlas. Goodman proposes demolishing existing buildings and building a 500 MVA data centre, including offsite enabling infrastructure. The portal records 21 submissions: 16 objections, 2 in support and 3 comments, including from Blacktown City Council and Endeavour Energy.
NEXTDC's S4 site at Horsley Park (365 MW, in planning and development) is about 8 km from S7.
Kemps Creek Data Centre Projects
Kemps Creek, in Penrith City along Mamre Road, has become the second major cluster. It also has the most contested applications.
| Project | Developer | Capacity | Stage | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mamre Road Data Centre Campus, 706–752 Mamre Road | AirTrunk (SYD4 "Summit", reported by ACS) | 1 GW (portal) / 1.2 GW peak (amended application, reported) | Amended application | SSD-92743706 |
| CDC KC1, 871–901 Mamre Road | CDC Data Centres | 144 MW | SEARs | BTW Media |
| Microsoft Kemps Creek, Mamre Road | Microsoft | Not publicly disclosed | Building One operating; Building Two due 2026 | Microsoft |
Mamre Road campus (AirTrunk SYD4). The original application on the NSW Planning Portal described a 1 GW campus of six four-storey buildings with 852 backup diesel generators and 936 cooling units. An amended application, reported by Urban Digest, cuts the campus to three buildings, reduces the maximum height from 40 m to 27 m and the gross floor area from 227,584 m² to 108,627 m², and revises the estimated cost to $8.1 billion. Peak power is stated as 1.2 GW. Generator counts differ between versions: 852 in the original description, 842 in the amended application and 846 as reported by ACS. The site is 52 ha.
CDC KC1. A four-storey building of about 34,000 m² on an 88.4 ha site, with a substation, cooling plant, backup generators and diesel storage. BTW Media reports a potential investment of about A$1.8 billion. No construction date has been published.
Microsoft Kemps Creek. Two buildings, with AW Edwards as general contractor. Microsoft reports that independent acoustic testing of Building One confirmed operation within approved noise limits.
Erskine Park, Huntingwood, Marsden Park and Rosehill
| Precinct | Project | Developer | Capacity | Stage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erskine Park | STACK SYD01, Lenore Drive / Lockwood Road | STACK Infrastructure | 450 MW | More information required (SSD-82211208) |
| Huntingwood | AirTrunk SYD1 and SYD3 | AirTrunk | Part of AirTrunk's Sydney portfolio | Operating |
| Marsden Park | CDC Marsden Park | CDC Data Centres | 504 MW ICT | Under construction since Oct 2024 |
| Rosehill | Equinix SY9x (xScale) | Equinix | 14 MW+, rising to 28 MW+ | Operating |
STACK SYD01. The planning portal describes a 450 MW data centre with 82,020 m² of GFA, a 24 m building height, a substation and water storage. It was on public exhibition from 20 April to 4 May 2026 and is now at the "more information required" stage.
CDC Marsden Park. Six four-storey buildings on 20.1 ha. CDC describes it as the largest data centre campus in the Southern Hemisphere. Marsden Park is in Sydney's north-west, in Blacktown City.
Major Developers & Operators
| Company | Western Sydney presence |
|---|---|
| AirTrunk | SYD1 and SYD3 (Huntingwood, operating); Mamre Road campus (proposed) |
| CDC Data Centres | Eastern Creek (operating), Marsden Park (under construction), KC1 Kemps Creek (SEARs) |
| NEXTDC | S4 Horsley Park (planning and development), S7 Eastern Creek (Prepare EIS) |
| Goodman Group | Project Atlas, Eastern Creek (response to submissions) |
| STACK Infrastructure | SYD01 Erskine Park (more information required) |
| Microsoft | Kemps Creek (Building One operating) |
| Equinix | SY9x Rosehill (operating) |
Profiles: Data centre operators in Australia
Construction Activity
Confirmed construction activity in Western Sydney as of this update:
- CDC Marsden Park. Earthworks and site preparation began in October 2024.
- Microsoft Kemps Creek. Building Two, with AW Edwards as general contractor.
- Staged expansions on operating campuses (CDC Eastern Creek, AirTrunk Huntingwood).
The larger applications (Mamre Road, S7, Atlas, STACK SYD01) are not yet approved. Their EIS documents indicate long build programmes. Submissions on the Mamre Road campus reference a construction period of about 10 years, reflecting phased delivery across multiple buildings.
More: Data centre construction
Power Infrastructure
Western Sydney is where the Sydney basin's transmission constraints bind first. From Transgrid's public material:
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Data centre connection enquiries within 12 km of Sydney West, since late 2024 | More than 10 GW |
| Total data centre enquiries across NSW | More than 20 GW |
| Capacity in signed connection agreements, Greater Sydney | About 1.5 GW (per w.media) |
| Proposed South Creek substation | Could add about 2 GW of capacity (per w.media) |
Since 14 August 2026, Transgrid's Network Capacity Allocation Policy applies to loads of 30 MW or more. Capacity is allocated only when a network connection agreement is signed. Conditional agreements require proof of progress on permits, land, construction, equipment and financing, and lapse if planning criteria are not met within three months. Transgrid has also said that new Sydney transmission capacity will be funded by data centres, not by other customers.
Endeavour Energy is the distribution network business across most of Western Sydney.
More: Data centre power infrastructure
Environmental & Planning Considerations
These issues appear repeatedly in Western Sydney assessments and submissions. We summarise what is on the public record. We do not take a position on individual projects.
Backup generators. The applications propose large diesel generator fleets: 340 at S7, 188 at STACK SYD01 (as reported at SEARs stage), and 842 to 852 at the Mamre Road campus. Generators run only during outages and scheduled testing, but testing schedules, air emissions and fuel storage are consistently assessed. Submissions on the Mamre Road campus from the Catholic Schools Parramatta Diocese asked for generator testing to happen outside school hours.
Noise. Cooling plant runs continuously, and cumulative noise from several campuses in one precinct is a recurring concern in objections. Microsoft's published acoustic verification at Kemps Creek is an example of post-construction compliance reporting.
Energy use. Objections to Goodman's Project Atlas cite electricity demand equivalent to about 780,000 homes. Such equivalence figures depend on assumptions and are made by submitters, not by the applicants.
Water. The Mamre Road campus EIS gives water consumption of about 22.4 million litres a year. Submissions on that application report Sydney Water advice that existing water and sewer systems in the precinct lack capacity and that a precinct servicing strategy is under review. Sydney Water says data centres currently use less than 1% of Greater Sydney's water.
Heat. Heat rejection from large campuses is raised in submissions, particularly alongside Western Sydney's summer temperatures.
Council positions. Penrith City Council objected to the Mamre Road campus, arguing the site was not suitable for development of that scale (ACS Information Age).
Policy response. The NSW Data Centre Policy Framework (17 August 2026) sets performance measures including no net cost to consumers, funding additional water and energy supply, and community infrastructure. Projects that meet the measures receive a commitment to assessment within 75 days.
Supplier & Contractor Opportunities
Western Sydney will be the largest source of data centre construction work in Australia over the next decade, if a meaningful share of these projects is approved and connected. The opportunities differ by project stage:
| Stage | Projects (as of this update) | Typical supplier categories |
|---|---|---|
| EIS and planning | S7, KC1, SYD01 | Environmental, acoustic, air quality, traffic, hydrology and planning consultants |
| Response to submissions | Mamre Road, Project Atlas | Consultants updating technical studies; servicing engineers |
| Under construction | Marsden Park, Microsoft Kemps Creek | Electrical, mechanical, fire, security, commissioning, trades |
| Operating and expanding | CDC Eastern Creek, AirTrunk Huntingwood, Equinix SY9x | Facilities management, maintenance, security, fit-out |
We do not know which contracts are open on these projects unless a source is cited.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are so many data centres being built in Western Sydney?
The precinct combines large industrial sites, the Sydney West transmission node, fibre routes to Sydney's interconnection points, and existing hyperscale campuses. The same concentration is now limiting further growth, because grid capacity is largely committed.
What is the largest data centre proposed in Western Sydney?
The Mamre Road Data Centre Campus at Kemps Creek (SSD-92743706), reported as AirTrunk's SYD4. The planning portal describes it at 1 GW, and the amended application at 1.2 GW peak power.
Which Western Sydney data centres are under construction?
CDC Marsden Park and Microsoft Kemps Creek Building Two, plus staged expansions on operating campuses. The largest applications are still in the planning process.
Winning Work in Western Sydney?
Most Western Sydney projects are still in planning. Consultants, contractors and suppliers who build relationships with developers and head contractors now will be better placed when packages are let. AISB's Data Centre Revenue Engine combines project tracking, account targeting and visibility for companies selling into these projects.
Sources & Verification
- NSW Planning Portal: NEXTDC S7, SSD-113934740. Link. Mamre Road Data Centre Campus, SSD-92743706. Link. Project Atlas, SSD-101067971. Link. STACK SYD01, SSD-82211208. Link. All checked 27 Sep 2026.
- ACS Information Age: AirTrunk Mamre Road (SYD4), 30 Apr 2026. Link
- Urban Digest: Mamre Road amended application. Link
- BTW Media: CDC KC1, 8 Aug 2026. Link
- Microsoft: Kemps Creek overview. Link
- Transgrid: Data centres and electricity capacity in NSW. Link
- w.media: Transgrid Sydney capacity. Link
- iTnews: CDC Eastern Creek expansion. Link
- Equinix: SY9x. Link
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