Anthropic sought to secure up to five gigawatts of data centre capacity in New South Wales to train its Claude AI chatbot [1].
The scale of the request highlights the immense power requirements of modern artificial intelligence and the competition among tech giants to secure energy-rich locations. If realized, such a project would fundamentally alter the energy landscape of the region.
Emails indicate the U.S. tech company proposed a meeting with the New South Wales government in early 2026 to discuss the plans [1], [2]. The company aimed to expand its global data centre footprint by establishing a massive hub for AI training within the state [1], [2].
The requested capacity of five gigawatts is significant [1]. According to reports, this proposed amount is more than three times the entire existing data centre capacity of Australia [3].
Data centres for large language models require vast amounts of electricity to power the thousands of GPUs needed for training. The search for gigawatt-scale sites has become a primary hurdle for AI developers as they move toward more complex models.
Anthropic did not provide further details on the specific locations or the timeline for construction in the revealed communications [1], [2]. The request underscores the tension between the rapid growth of AI infrastructure and the available capacity of national power grids.
“Anthropic sought to secure up to five gigawatts of data centre capacity in New South Wales”
The sheer scale of Anthropic's request demonstrates that AI training has evolved beyond traditional corporate data needs into a matter of national infrastructure. By seeking capacity that dwarfs Australia's current total, the company is signaling that the next generation of AI models requires energy resources on a scale previously reserved for heavy industry or entire cities, potentially forcing governments to accelerate power grid upgrades to attract tech investment.
