Powering up data centres in Melbourne’s north-west  

Energy infrastructure company, Jemena, and energy infrastructure service provider, Zinfra, are completing a major upgrade to one of Melbourne's largest data centres, doubling the power capacity at the NEXTDC M2 Melbourne Data Centre.

Jemena’s Executive General Manager of Networks, Shaun Reardon said this is just one of a number of projects underway to connect or upgrade connections for data centres across Jemena’s electricity network.

“In the past two years we have seen a significant growth in the number of large technology companies looking to build data centres within Jemena’s electricity network in Melbourne’s north-west,” Mr Reardon said.

“Data centres are physical locations that store much of the applications we use every day, from banking applications to Netflix. They also store critical data for technology, healthcare and finance, as well as the large amount of data and processing technology required for the growth in AI machine learning”.

“Data centres can also benefit the whole electricity network in the long-term by providing a continuous energy load that can help stabilise the grid through periods of high and low demand.”

“Our expertise in this space means data centre operators can be confident they will have the reliable energy they need, while consumers can be confident they can continue using many of the technologies they have come to rely on each day.”

"To upgrade the NEXTDC M2 Melbourne Data Centre’s power capacity from 50 MVA to 100 MVA requires the upgrade of the substation currently being built,” Mr Reardon said.

Zinfra, which is the service provider carrying out the NEXTDC M2 Melbourne Data Centre upgrade, now has a team of more than 25 specialists who are dedicated to building the electricity infrastructure required to power data centres.

“Zinfra has gone from a small team in this area to a thriving team of more than 25 including project and construction managers, electrical fitters and protection testers to respond to a work program for reliable digital infrastructure that extends for at least 10 years,” Zinfra Works Program Manager Michael Furolo said.

“Zinfra’s in-depth capability in the construction of zone substations and critical electrical infrastructure makes it the perfect delivery partner to meet the increasing demand for data centres that didn’t exist two years ago.

"One of the biggest challenges with data centres is ensuring minimal disruption to existing operations while integrating the new infrastructure. Our team has to work around the clock, often in high-pressure environments, to successfully meet deadlines and maintain the centre's uptime,” Mr Furolo said. 

NEXTDC Chief Operating Officer, Simon Cooper, said coordinating the planning and execution of this upgrade with Jemena highlights how the accelerating demand for digital infrastructure, which plays an essential role in supporting Australia’s digital economy and empowering organisations across business and government to deliver critical services, can be successfully delivered. 

“The successful expansion to 100 MVA with Jemena will further enhance this data centre's capacity and reliability, as a cornerstone of the digital infrastructure landscape in Melbourne”, said Mr Cooper.

NEXTDC is Australia's leading Data Centre-as-a-Service provider with 17 state of the art facilities in operation offering critical infrastructure for the digital economy and more sites in various stages of development and planning.