This is a call for the Government to put a one-year pause on the development of new AI data centres so that we can decide which AI data centres are in the public interest, where they should go, what rules they should follow, and who should pay for the resource and infrastructure they need to function.

The recently consented Datagrid hyperscale data centre in Southland is expected to use about 6% of our total electricity supply, equivalent to all our current wind generation capacity and more than the consumption of 300,000 households. It has also been given permission to take up to 600,000 litres of groundwater a day, or 220 million litres a year. 

Without proper regulation, everyday New Zealanders could end up paying the price while overseas companies take the profits.

Read the petition here.

Image: Petition page