Tasmania Data Centres: Cool Climate, Renewable Power, Real Trade-offs

Why Tasmania keeps coming up

Tasmania is the smallest data centre market among Australia's states, yet it keeps appearing in conversations about new builds, sustainable hosting and disaster recovery. Two things drive that interest: a power system built mostly on renewable energy, and a cool climate that can reduce the energy needed for cooling. Against those sits one hard constraint. Every connection to the mainland, and to the rest of the world, has to cross Bass Strait.

This guide explains what is on the island today, which workloads suit it and what to check before you commit. For the market in Hobart itself, see our Hobart colocation page.

What is on the island today

The DChunt map lists 5 data centres in Hobart from 4 operators: 42-24 (2 sites, including Cambridge and Derwent Park), DXN Limited (Tasmania One), TasmaNet (DC1) and Vocus Communications. Our map also lists facilities around Launceston and Burnie, which may help if you need a second site in the state. You can see every location on the DChunt map and read operator details in the provider directory.

That is a small pool compared with Sydney or Melbourne, so it pays to talk to every operator rather than just one or two. DChunt's coverage page lists an indicative range of $1,500 to $2,800 per full rack per month in Hobart. Treat that as a rough guide only, not a quote; our colocation cost guide explains what drives the final price.

Renewable power: what it really means

Tasmania's electricity comes mainly from hydro power, backed by a growing number of wind farms. In November 2020 the Tasmanian Government announced that the state had become 100% self-sufficient in renewable electricity, meaning its installed hydro and wind capacity is expected to generate more than its baseline annual demand of 10,500 gigawatt hours. The same year it legislated the Tasmanian Renewable Energy Target: 15,750 gigawatt hours of renewable generation a year by 2030 and 21,000 gigawatt hours by 2040, or 200% of the state's needs.

The detail matters. That 100% figure is measured on a net, annual basis. Tasmania is part of the National Electricity Market, still imports power through the Basslink interconnector at times, and occasionally runs the gas-fired Tamar Valley Power Station. A data centre in Tasmania is not automatically running on 100% renewable power every hour.

So ask each operator how their own supply is sourced and what evidence backs it, such as renewable energy certificates surrendered on their behalf or a power purchase agreement. Our guides to renewable energy data centres and checking green data centre claims cover what to request.

Cool climate and cooling

Hobart's mild summers and cool winters mean more hours each year where outside air can help with cooling, which can reduce the power a facility spends on chillers. How much benefit you get depends on the building's design, not just its postcode. Ask for the facility's measured power usage effectiveness (PUE), how it is calculated and over what period, and what cooling it uses for higher-density racks. Our cooling technologies guide explains the main options.

The Bass Strait connectivity limit

DChunt's coverage page describes Hobart's connectivity as limited and dependent on links to the mainland, and that is the main trade-off. Today, three subsea fibre cables connect Tasmania to the mainland: Telstra's Bass Strait-1 and Bass Strait-2, and the fibre that runs with the Basslink electricity interconnector, which AARNet has operated since July 2025. In 2022, damage to both Telstra cables at the same time left much of the state with little or no internet access for several hours, which shows how much depends on a few links.

More capacity is on the way. SUBCO has announced Bernacchi-1, a branch of its Sydney to Perth cable that would add a new route to the island, and the planned Marinus Link power interconnector is expected to carry fibre too. Until those are in service, plan around what exists now.

For buyers, that means:

• Ask which mainland cables each carrier in the building uses, and whether your primary and backup links run on different cables. • Expect higher latency to Sydney and Melbourne than a mainland site, and test it between the exact buildings you are considering. • Check how cloud services are reached. If the cloud region you use is on the mainland, every request crosses the strait; our cloud on-ramps guide explains the options.

Our connectivity guide covers how to compare carriers.

Workloads that suit Tasmania

Tasmania tends to suit:

• Tasmanian businesses and government. Local users get low latency, and staff can visit the site easily. • Disaster recovery and backup. A Tasmanian site sits far from mainland risks. Pair it with a Melbourne or Sydney primary, using asynchronous replication across the distance; our geographic redundancy guide explains how. See also colocation in Melbourne. • Batch and compute-heavy work. Jobs such as large processing runs, model training or archive storage care more about power and cost than about milliseconds, so the connectivity limit matters less. Check that the facility can supply the power density you need; our AI infrastructure guide explains what to ask.

It suits less well where users are mostly on the mainland and expect very low latency, such as trading platforms, busy customer-facing apps or real-time services.

Questions to ask before you commit

• How much power per rack can you supply today, and how much more is available if I grow? • How is your electricity sourced, and what evidence can you share? • Which carriers are in the building, and which mainland cables do they use? • What is the measured round-trip time from this building to my mainland site or cloud region? • What happens to my services if one Bass Strait cable fails? • What remote hands support is available? Our remote hands guide explains what to expect.

Shortlist sites on the DChunt map, line them up with the comparison tool, and if you are unsure whether Tasmania fits, DChunt's free assessment checks your power, latency, compliance and budget needs and suggests locations and operators to match. DChunt is independent and does not resell data centre space. This guide is general information, not engineering or energy advice.