Firmus's Long Reach data centre not fully funded, Tasmanian committee told

Funding status

Grzinic told Tasmania's parliamentary energy committee that the St Leonards site in Launceston was fully funded and that stage one of Wesley Vale was also fully funded. A company spokesperson said St Leonards was well advanced in construction and contracted to a customer. Wesley Vale stage one had funding allocated but was awaiting approval, the spokesperson said, while Bell Bay, the site of Long Reach, was under option to a customer and would be funded in stages. Firmus would not identify those customers.

Firmus is building a data centre at St Leonards in Launceston, has development approval for Long Reach, and is seeking approval for a third Tasmanian facility at Wesley Vale, ABC News reported. Long Reach is the largest of the three, with planned capacity of 288MW. The Bell Bay site would make Firmus Tasmania's largest electricity user, The Conversation reported. Firmus, led by co-chief executives Oliver Curtis and Tim Rosenfield, is Nvidia-backed. Its website says it has two sites operational and five under development across Australia, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Power supply

Hydro Tasmania said it was assessing a Firmus request for 444MW, with a decision expected by the end of the year. It has identified three planned wind farms that could supply the company once operational, but said new generation would not be available until at least 2030.

Grzinic said all energy for Firmus's Tasmanian facilities would be developed and procured in Tasmania. He said consultants had mistakenly included incorrect information in a submission to a federal AI inquiry.

IPO withdrawal

Firmus withdrew its application to list on the Australian Securities Exchange on 9 October, after order books closed in Sydney that morning. The board cited recent market volatility and prevailing market conditions and said the terms would not appropriately reflect the business and its long-term growth outlook. The board concluded that proceeding with the offer was not in the best interests of the company and its shareholders. The float would have been Australia's largest since Telstra in 1997, ABC News reported.

Firmus said it would pursue private market funding and consider alternative public and private options. The company had planned to raise US$5.5 billion in the float, with proceeds needed to help fund construction of the broader network, The Straits Times reported.

Approvals

Firmus is appealing a George Town Council condition limiting the use of backup diesel generators at Long Reach. Latrobe Council has asked Planning Minister Kerry Vincent to consider the Wesley Vale proposal as a major project, ABC News reported. About 6,000 people signed a petition against the Bell Bay project, The Conversation reported.