IREN plans 900 MW Redbank data center near Wagga, power by 2029

IREN said on 14 October that it plans a 900 MW data center campus called Redbank near Wagga Wagga in regional New South Wales, targeting first power in 2029, and the second-order effect is that the bind for Australian AI halls is moving from Sydney's full grid to regional substations, where two proposals now add up to 2.3 GW at one locality before either has a grid connection agreement.

What happened?

• The proposal: On 14 October 2026 IREN, the Nasdaq-listed AI cloud and data center company, opened a community information page for Redbank Data Centre. It lists 900 MW of total planned capacity and 2029 as the target for initial energisation. The site is west of the Gregadoo Waste Management Centre, on land that already hosts transmission infrastructure.
• The caveat, in IREN's own words: In a post on X the same day, IREN said Redbank "is in the early assessment phase", that it is "working toward a grid connection", and that the project is not included in its announced 5 GW secured-power portfolio.
• The numbers: IREN expects more than 500 construction jobs, more than 200 ongoing jobs and more than $200 million in payments to Wagga Wagga City Council over 30 years. Capital Brief reported that IREN expects to spend more than $10 billion and to build in stages over six to eight years. IREN's page does not state a currency.
• The neighbour: CDC Data Centres has already lodged a state significant development proposal at Gregadoo for a campus that could draw up to 1.4 GW, The Daily Advertiser reported on 1 October. Wagga Wagga City Council moved ahead with a land sale to CDC at 232 Ashfords Road on 12 October, and CDC announced a community benefits package worth up to $225 million on 13 October.

Why does it matter?

The direct signal. Compare Redbank with IREN's first Australian campus. Bundey in South Australia was announced in June with its transmission connection agreement already signed: four 330 kV feeder exits for up to 800 MW, without network upgrades, and energisation from 2028. Redbank has no such agreement yet. IREN is showing its hand before it has the connection, which tells you how contested regional grid capacity has become.

The second-order signal: the grid queue is moving to the regions. Transgrid, which runs the New South Wales transmission network, said on 26 August that there is "insufficient capacity in Sydney's transmission network today to connect any of the 20 GW of connection enquiries" it has received for large loads. About 1.5 GW is already allocated to signed data center agreements in Western Sydney, and up to 2 GW more can be unlocked only by upgrades the data centers pay for. The Daily Advertiser reported that Transgrid's 2026 annual planning report names Wagga Wagga as a regional centre that could offer large-load connections comparable to those in Sydney. That is where Redbank and CDC are now lining up.

Our arithmetic on the cluster.

• CDC's up to 1.4 GW plus IREN's 900 MW is 2.3 GW proposed at Gregadoo. That is about one and a half times the 1.5 GW Transgrid has signed for all of Greater Sydney.
• Transgrid puts average New South Wales demand at 7.5 GW to 10 GW. On those figures, the two campuses at full build would equal roughly 23% to 31% of average state demand. Both would arrive in stages over many years, not at once.
• Bundey's 800 MW plus Redbank's 900 MW takes IREN's announced Australian plans to 1.7 GW, of which only Bundey has a signed connection.
• More than $10 billion over 900 MW is at least about $11 million per MW of planned capacity, for land, power, buildings and fit-out. IREN has not given a split.

What does it change?

Near term (to the end of 2026)

• Planning, not power. The next steps IREN lists are a scoping report to the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, a referral to the Commonwealth under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, and a full Environmental Impact Statement. None of these adds a megawatt; they decide whether the site can be built at all.
• Community terms become part of the cost. CDC's package and IREN's $200 million pledge show that in regional towns the price of a hall now includes a negotiated benefit to the council, on top of land, power and construction.

Longer term (2029 and after)

• Who gets paid first. If the connection comes, the first cash goes to the grid side: high-voltage equipment, substation work and the new generation and storage IREN says it will contract to cover the site's use. IREN says the project will fund its own network connection.
• Australia's AI hall map widens. Sydney's halls get the signed capacity; regional sites get the growth. That is the same split our Australia Markets door has tracked, and it matters for operators such as NEXTDC that already hold contracted Sydney power.
• Time to power stays the long pole. As our explainer on how long it takes to build an AI data center sets out, the building is the quick part. Redbank's own timeline, first power in 2029 and full build over six to eight years, fits that pattern.

What should we watch next?

• IREN's scoping report, due by the end of October 2026. Capital Brief reports the filing to the NSW planning department is due then. It should be the first public document with a site plan and staging.
• Community drop-in sessions, 4 and 5 November 2026, Wagga Wagga. IREN lists both dates on its Redbank page; venues and times are still to be advised.
• A Transgrid connection agreement. This is the line that would move Redbank into IREN's secured portfolio. Until then, 900 MW is a plan.
• CDC's assessment. CDC is further along in the state process. Its timetable will show how fast Gregadoo can move and whether two campuses can share the local network.
• What would weaken the catalyst: no connection offer for the Wagga area before 2029, an EPBC referral that forces a redesign, or local opposition that stalls the scoping stage.

FAQ

Is Redbank approved?
No. IREN says it is in the early assessment phase. The scoping report, a Commonwealth environmental referral and a full Environmental Impact Statement still have to be prepared and exhibited, and for state significant projects the NSW government, not the council, decides.

Does IREN have power for the site?
Not yet. IREN says it is working toward a grid connection and that Redbank is outside its announced 5 GW secured-power portfolio. It plans to connect to the existing high-voltage network, pay for its own connection, and contract new renewable generation, firming and storage to cover its use.

Why Wagga Wagga and not Sydney?
Transgrid says Sydney's transmission network has no spare capacity today for the 20 GW of large-load enquiries it has received, beyond the 1.5 GW already signed. IREN's page says the Redbank site sits on land that already hosts transmission infrastructure.

Who is the customer?
None has been named for Redbank. IREN's existing customers include Microsoft, NVIDIA, Together AI, Perplexity and Figure AI, according to its Redbank page.

Takeaway: Redbank is a 900 MW plan, not 900 MW of power; the signal is that Australian AI halls are now queueing at regional substations, and the Transgrid connection agreement is the date to watch.

Figures come from the dated sources listed under References below. Our own arithmetic is shown and labelled as ours. Where reports disagree, we say so.

Last reviewed: 14 Oct 2026 · Next review: after IREN lodges its scoping report (due end of October 2026) or signs a grid connection
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References

1. IREN, "Redbank Data Centre" community information page, 14 Oct 2026
2. IREN (@IREN_Ltd) post on X announcing Redbank, 14 Oct 2026
3. Capital Brief, Brandon How, "IREN to spend more than $10b on Wagga Wagga data centre", 14 Oct 2026
4. The Daily Advertiser, "Gregadoo data centre proposals dividing opinion across Wagga", 14 Oct 2026
5. The Daily Advertiser, John Hall, "Huge data centre proposed in Wagga as developer turns eye to regional sites", 1 Oct 2026
6. Transgrid, "New transmission capacity in Sydney to be funded by data centres", 26 Aug 2026
7. IREN via GlobeNewswire, "IREN Announces First Australian Data Center Campus - 800MW in South Australia", 3 Jun 2026
8. Jabil investor relations, "Adani Enterprises, Jabil Sign MoU for 50:50 Data Center Hardware Joint Venture", 13 Oct 2026
9. Navitas Semiconductor press release, "Navitas Collaborates with NVIDIA on 800 V-to-12 V Power Delivery Board for Next-Generation AI Infrastructure", 12 Oct 2026
10. TSMC Investor Relations, "2026 Q3 Quarterly Results" (conference notice), checked 14 Oct 2026