Project Ares

Proponent: Energy North Pty Ltd

Overview

Energy North Pty Ltd propose to construct and operate Project Ares, approximately 52 km north-west of Elliot and 100 km south-west of Daly Waters. Project Ares is a hyperscale data centre campus with total information technology capacity of 1 GW.

The proposed action includes:

• a hyperscale data centre (total information technology capacity of 1 GW)
• up to 4 GL/yr of groundwater extracted from the Wiso Basin
• a large scale (7,000 ha) solar farm
• solar photovoltaic generation up to 3,000-megawatt peak
• battery energy storage systems up to 16 gigawatt hours
• gas fired power generation infrastructure
• non-process infrastructure (access roads, airstrip, workers accommodation, laydown areas, workshops, rail siding, waste management)
• a preliminary disturbance footprint of 19,150 ha within a project area of 186,000 ha.

The proposed action is anticipated to have an operational life of at least 25 years for the data facility, with the overall project exceeding 30 years.

Stage 1: Referral

NT EPA notices

• Notice of decision to accept referral for standard assessment – 6 July 2026 PDF (79.5 KB)
• Notice of decision and statement of reasons – assessment by EIS 15 September 2026 PDF (167.4 KB)

Documents

Public consultation on the referral

The NT EPA published a statutory notice on 8 July 2026 to invite public comment on the referral for standard assessment submitted by Energy North Pty Ltd for Project Ares located in Barkly Region.

Interested persons were invited to make a submission by 20 August 2026. The NT EPA published the notice in accordance with regulation 52(1) of the Environment Protection Regulations 2020.

The following submissions are published in accordance with regulation 267 of the Environment Protection Regulations 2020.