Ms BADGER – I wanted to touch on AI, and thank you, for sharing the principles and ethics of responsible use of AI. What work are you doing across the portfolios? It touches on almost every department in some ways, the rollout of AI, particularly the data centres and the AI factories coming into Tasmania. What sort of planning is going to be needed to be put place as to where they could go? For example, some are quite water-heavy; the non‑flammable liquid cooling is still a novel technology that’s been rolled out. As these things are coming online very, very quickly, we need different precautions in place.
As well, we’ve got things like Firmus that are coming on very quickly, that are going to need a lot of power, quicker than what – if Marinus is built, so there’s the question of ensuring that if we’re doing deals with these businesses that you can guarantee their power supply and not at the cost of any other industry in the state. Can you talk us through those sorts of elements that are are being rolled out and how that balance of having the facilities and everything?
Ms OGILVIE – The whole world is grappling with AI and the need for more data centres; and the explosion of big data and where it all sits. The first principles layer -Tasmania is well suited to host data centres being a cool climate, with renewable energy rather than coal‑fired energy. I understand why we are an attractive place, and we seek to maximise that. I think it’s also true to say that data centres don’t generally employ a lot of people, so the business case is slightly different; it’s not a huge employer of people. What it does do, is it enables us to leverage our capability in innovation, in the arts, in anything that generates intellectual property that we can sell over the wires and get royalty streams back. So that’s at the top end.
Mr Mogridge was speaking before about the Office of Coordinator-General’s strategy and thinking, and I think you can touch on some more there. There is a document called advanced technology strategy that we’ve been working on. That is, AI sits within advanced technologies, and we were a little bit ahead of the ball, which was great. I’d just come back from the States and had seen what was happening on the west coast. In our consultations with advanced technologies for that strategy development, there’s obviously some underpinning infrastructure – data centres are going to be needed, better telco, more cables, fatter pipes, all of that is required.
I understand your thinking around Firmus, in particular the Marinus energy telco cable, but I will ask Mr Mogridge to speak about it. That’s one example. You’re wanting the strategic layer for Tasmania and where does that go?
Mr MOGRIDGE – I think touching on a really critical strategic point for Tasmania and certainly I recognise there’s several different portfolios that are involved in this. For example, ReCFIT has a function in long‑term energy design, but equally Hydro Tasmania needs to turn its mind to its assets and durability of the provision of energy over a long period of time.
We’ve spoken about some of the longer-term strategies here, and to dig into that a little bit more – there is this opportunity for us to understand how we can drive and create a market-maker scenario for energy, for example, to take that in particular so that we can unlock things like Weasel as a development of significant solar energy moving forward and have a long term power purchase agreement that directly aligns with the investment as it comes to life. I think that’s part of this critical discussion that we need to look at with the diversification strategy, to make sure that we have all the arms of government working collaboratively to do that design –
Ms OGILVIE – We talked about this as well.
Mr MOGRIDGE – Absolutely, making sure that our AI industry dialogue is directly aligned with that, so that when we are making these investments in the context of major data centres, we’re contemplating how that will be influential in supporting industry in Tasmania.
There’s other elements of this that I think go critically to your point around the need for us to be smarter in how we’re leveraging energy moving forward, so that we’re not having one thing at the cost of the other. I’m just making things up in a room – but industrial symbiosis is something we’ve seen in in other jurisdictions where you might look at something which is high-energy use, typical old-fashioned industry and we need data centres. They use a lot of water, for example, they generate a lot of heat. If we have a large electrical boiler, for example, that desires a lot of heat, how do we actually create some symbiosis here which creates a net reduction in emissions, net reduction in energy desires, and create some more efficient and productive output for Tasmania.
Ms OGILVIE – May I also add, we’re talking about the industry dialogue. I will specifically let everybody know that we are having the first of our industry dialogues in conjunction with the economics department at the University of Tasmania (UTAS). We’re gathering people around the table to really start identifying this. The door is always open.
Ms BADGER – Thank you. On the Advanced Technology Strategy, that’s what’s being developed at the moment. I’m seeking clarity of when we would see that? Just to confirm that that would include an analysis of what the forecast of – and I completely understand this is changing every day – the forecast of AI factories and data centres that are coming here versus available power, available water sources and how those water sources are going to be coming online. Even at the moment there’s no take agreement for Firmus from the North Esk. Is it like a Tas Irrigation set up? How are we going to do that? That is one example coming online very, very quickly and there’s a lot in the pipeline and nothing to confirm with Tasmanians how that’s going to look?
Ms OGILVIE – Thank you. I don’t want to dodge anything but that actually sits with the Office of Coordinator-General to do that work, unless Mike has more there?
Mr MOGRIDGE – Absolutely right. Also, Renewables, Climate and Future Industries Tasmania (ReCFIT) and some of the other portfolios outside of this one.
Ms OGILVIE – I just want to mislead you, the Advanced Technology Strategy won’t include the business case for data centres in Tasmania, that sits with this piece of work, but it will be done.
Ms BADGER – No absolutely, that’s fine. That’s what I wanted to confirm. We’ve got a business case at the destruction of everything else because we haven’t done the planning.
