The rapid growth of artificial intelligence is increasing demand for data centres, prompting fresh attention on how Australia’s electricity grid can support larger energy loads while maintaining reliability.
Researchers at Monash University say the expansion of AI-driven data centres presents technical, regulatory and planning challenges for the national power system, with work already underway to better understand how these facilities interact with the grid.
Dr Mehdi Ghazavi Dozein, from Monash University’s Low-Carbon Energy Lab in the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, said data centres needed to be viewed as major electricity users rather than electricity producers.
“Data centres are fundamentally large electricity loads, not generation assets. That distinction matters for how we plan, connect and operate them within the electricity system.”
His research focuses on the design, grid connection and operation of large electricity loads, including data centres and hydrogen electrolysers, as well as modelling how these facilities respond under normal operating conditions and during power system disturbances.
“We use advanced modelling to understand how large loads, including large data centres, interact with the electricity system, how their demand changes over time, and what that means for reliable and stable grid operation,” Dr Ghazavi Dozein said.
The work also examines technical and regulatory frameworks for integrating large electricity loads into Australia’s grid, alongside issues such as network congestion, system flexibility and the co-location of data centres with renewable energy and battery storage.
Dr Ghazavi Dozein said Monash researchers had been working with AusNet Services to study how data centres behave under a range of operating conditions.
“Through our research partnership with AusNet Services, we have been investigating how data centres behave under both steady-state and transient conditions. This includes how they respond during power system disturbances and what is needed to ensure reliable grid connection and operation, with the focus on modelling framework development, grid-code compliance analysis, and system level impact studies.”
He said the university was also developing new testing capabilities that would allow researchers to assess data centre equipment in a controlled environment before it is connected to the electricity network.
“At Monash, we’re expanding our large load laboratory capabilities with a testing platform for data centres. It means we can plug real equipment into a test system where a computer is simulating the rest of the electricity grid in real time. This allows us to see how data centres would behave under real grid conditions, without needing to risk the actual power system.”
Dr Ghazavi Dozein said Australia had strong potential to support the continued expansion of AI infrastructure if the supporting frameworks kept pace with demand.
“Australia is well placed to support the growth of AI-driven data centres, but success will depend on establishing the right technical and regulatory frameworks for grid connection and operation.”
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