The group is in &lsquo active discussions with hyperscalers and neoclouds&rsquo on the site&rsquo s future capacity

 

[SINGAPORE] Asset manager   Keppel   : BN4 +1.12% on Thursday (Jan 15) announced that it has secured a 720 megawatt (MW) power bank for an artificial intelligence data centre campus close to Melbourne, Australia. 

 

The site is located south-east of Melbourne city, within the proposed Gippsland Renewable Energy Zone, one of the state&rsquo s largest electricity nodes. 

 

Keppel said that the move brings its pipeline of data centre power-bank capacity from over 300 MW to &ldquo over 1 gigawatt (GW) of gross power capacity in the Asia-Pacific&rdquo .

 

As part of the expansion, the group&rsquo s connectivity division has secured the rights to lease a 123 hectare contiguous site near Morwell, Victoria, in phases and over time, from Australian energy and infrastructure landowner Lightwood Group. The site has a gross power capacity of up to 720 MW.

 

Keppel informed that it will pay Lightwood an &ldquo annual access fee to gain early access to the site for pre-development works&rdquo . 

 

Such works, it added, include &ldquo obtaining planning approvals and contracting power and water, before its private data centre funds take up long-term leases&rdquo .

 

The site&rsquo s &ldquo ability to have a dedicated transmission connection to neighbouring power terminal stations provides the potential for power cost savings by bypassing the local distribution network&rdquo , Keppel said.

 

The group added that existing water infrastructure and proximity to intercity dark fibre networks will &ldquo enable high-performance connectivity to Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra&rdquo . 

 

Manjot Singh Mann, chief executive of connectivity at Keppel, said: &ldquo We are in active discussions with hyperscalers and neoclouds regarding the future capacity provided by the site, many of whom have expressed keen interest in Melbourne &ndash one of Australia&rsquo s fastest-growing data centre markets.&rdquo  

 

Keppel pointed out that Melbourne is &ldquo rapidly emerging as a Tier‑ 1 hub for AI and cloud workloads due to its relatively more attractive power and land costs compared to other markets in Australia&rdquo .

 

The city recorded a colocation vacancy rate of 4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2025. Demand is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 29 per cent from 2025 to 2029. 

 

Keppel manages and operates 39 data centres with a total gross power capacity of over 800 MW across Asia-Pacific and Europe, including projects under development.