Malaysia giant buys solar and battery project in coal country, with eye on data centres

Malaysia energy giant Gamuda Renewables has bought into one of the biggest solar and battery hybrid projects in Australia, and is already looking at expanding the scale of the project to accommodate and power a co-located data centre.

Gamuda, a leading property and infrastructure developer in its home country, is already developing two approved wind and solar projects in the central highlands of Tasmania, and the Hazelwood North solar farm and battery is its first push into Victoria.

The project is located in the heart of Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, the centre of its brown coal generators and near the now shuttered Hazelwood coal fired power generator.

It already has approval for a 450 megawatt (MW) solar farm and a four-hour battery (1,800 MWh) that is scheduled to begin construction in 2028, but Gamuda and original owner Manthos Investments say they are already looking at expanding the scale of the project to allow for a co-located data centre.

“Hazelwood North marks a significant milestone for us — not only as our first Victorian asset, but as a project that captures exactly where the energy transition is heading,” said Jarred Hardman, chief strategy and development officer at Gamuda Renewables.

“The opportunity to expand the project to include a data centre is something both Manthos and our team are genuinely excited about. Pairing large-scale renewable generation and storage with the digital infrastructure that increasingly depends on it is a compelling model, and one we look forward to progressing in the months ahead.”

Gamuda is already developing – with local landowners – the adjoining 200 MW Weasel solar farm and the 350 MW Cellars Hill wind farm (and battery) projects in Tasmania, which have both secured deals under the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

The company says it has already surpassed its initial target of securing up to 2 gigawatts (GW) of capacity in Australia by 2029, and now aims to secure 5 GW of assets by 2031. It has also secured early Contract Involvement (ECI) for the 900 MW Oven Mountain pumped hydro project and the 750 MW Capricornia pumped hydro project.

The two companies say the Hazelwood North project will create approximately 450 local construction jobs — a meaningful economic contribution to a region with a proud industrial heritage and a workforce well-placed to play a central role in Australia’s energy future. 

“This project brings together Gamuda Renewables’ capabilities, the Valley’s energy assets, and an expanding Data Centre presence to create something truly significant — a sustained economic uplift for the Latrobe Valley and its surrounding communities, now and well into the future,” said George Labros from Manthos.

Gamuda says a co-located data centre could be powered directly by on-site solar and BESS, operating with greater independence from the wider distribution network and leveraging the battery as a “shock absorber” during periods of low and high demand.

“This model reduces pressure on shared transmission infrastructure and offers data centre operators a genuinely differentiated proposition — clean, dedicated, reliable power, built and managed by the same team that constructed the asset,” it says.

The battery is one of a number proposed for the Latrobe Valley region. It already features the 150 MW, 150 MWh Haelwood battery, with EnergyAustralia building the 350 MW, 1,400 MWh Woreen battery and Tag Energy last week securing planning approval for a 1,000 MW, 4,000 MWh battery near Morwell.

The acquisition is subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). The two parties did not reveal the size of the stake bought by Gamuda, or the financial details.

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