WA stands at the forefront of a digital transformation that is reshaping industries, communities and the way we live and work. The recent Energy Club WA Industry Dinner panel brought together leaders from across the energy and technology sectors to discuss the rapid rise of data centres and artificial intelligence, and what this means for our state’s energy future.
Panellists included Craig Gianoli (APAC Data Centre Design Senior Engineering Manager, Amazon Web Services), Nessa Abbaspour (WA AI Energy Industry Lead, Deloitte), Joe Craparotta (VP Cloud and Service Providers, Schneider Electric) and Peter Kerr (Senior BDM Remote Energy, EDL), with the discussion guided by Izzi Messina (Vice President Growth & Development Projects Eastern Hemisphere, Wood).
The conversation was clear: WA is uniquely positioned to become a powerhouse for digital infrastructure, but realising this potential will require vision, collaboration and decisive action.
Joe Craparotta shared, “At Schneider, we have the critical power, critical cooling, the software, and the analytics that kind of drive data centre infrastructure. It's been wonderful as a very, very proud Australian to see
such a large amount of capital investment in the country.
“It's great to see that within the top six investment zones of the world, this country is in there. So it's exciting for us.”
The scale of growth in data centres is unprecedented. National capacity has surged from just 37 megawatts in 2005 to more than 1.3 gigawatts in 2025, with two-thirds of that growth occurring since 2020.
Craig Gianoli from Amazon Web Services discussed this rapid growth: “We've been able to forecast based on historical data and market sentiment, to have a really good grasp on what the demand is going forward. That's given us an opportunity to build at the right time and make very timely investments there.
“With what's happened in the last couple of years with AI, it's kind of been flipped on its head.”
WA is now attracting landmark investments from global technology giants, including Amazon’s $20 billion commitment and Microsoft’s $5 billion expansion plan. This boom is driven by post-pandemic digitalisation, remote work, and the exponential rise in AI workloads.
Craig Giannoli from AWS explained the scale of deals that are now a reality for WA, “from an engineering perspective, and I'm certainly sure that the same would be from an EDL perspective and a power demand perspective, when you hear 500 megawatts, a gigawatt, you know, these are absolute game changers.”
WA continues to gain attention as a preferred location for hyperscale data centres and AI innovation.
Peter Kerr from EDL highlighted several advantages saying, “Western Australia has a couple of brilliant things for data centres that other places may not. Relatively cheap land, probably the best co-located sun and wind resource in the world, lots of gas to back all that up and relatively geologically and politically safe.”
Yet, the panel was candid about the challenges ahead. Power supply is the main inhibitor to growth, with grid constraints outside tier-1 cities and a skilled-labour shortage adding cost and timeline pressure. Cooling and water usage are also critical, as data centres require innovative solutions to operate efficiently in WA’s climate.
The shortage of skilled workers in engineering and AI is also a concern, and without significant investment in local education and training, WA risks falling behind global competitors. There is a cost to the implementation of these new systems across industry.
Nessa Abbaspour from Deloitte noted, “I can definitely see that the last 18 months to two years have driven a lot of demand. I think given the challenges when it comes to the cost of AI and implementation, that's where I've seen most of our clients and large operators looking.
“Everyone is looking into how to make this economically feasible from a business perspective, and a national perspective.
“It's beyond now just the data and the use case.”
The opportunity for WA is more than economic. Data centres are catalysts for change, driving investment in renewables and providing a new business case for local gas producers, given the immense energy requirements of these facilities.
Peter Kerr from EDL said, “A single gigawatt-scale data centre could take up 20% of the southwest’s energy demand. That’s enormous.”
The panel discussed how these immense requirements are driving new conversations about the role of renewables and gas in WA’s energy mix, with data centres acting as catalysts for investment and change.
The discussion made it clear that WA is at a pivotal moment in its digital and energy transformation. While the opportunities are significant, particularly as WA attracts increased global investment and advances technological innovation, challenges are equally real.
Our industry experts agreed that success will depend on coordinated planning and collaboration across government, industry, and technology providers. They emphasised the need for practical solutions to challenges such as grid constraints, skilled workforce shortages, and the cost of implementing new systems.