By Sandy Powell

By Ashleigh Barraclough

Topic: AI

Thursday, 23 Jul 2026, 5:14 am

Firmus wants to use irrigation water to cool its data center.

In short:

Farmers are cautious about Firmus using irrigation water for its data center.

Firmus accidentally shared its plan to use irrigation water on its website.

What's next?

The government says it has not received a proposal from Firmus to use irrigation water.

A farmer wants Firmus to be a good corporate citizen.

Firmus revealed its plan to use irrigation water on its website by mistake.

The plan was to use water from the Tasmanian Irrigation scheme at its Wesley Vale center.

Firmus says it will use rainwater for cooling and irrigation water as a backup.

Firmus said its data center would use as much water as a restaurant annually.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff visited one of Firmus' sites.

Firmus has sites in St Leonards, Launceston, and a proposed site for the Southgate Project.

'Not a lot of water' is needed, but concerns remain

Tasmanian Irrigation is a state-owned company that provides water for farming.

An AI company wants to build three data centers in Tasmania, but there are concerns.

Farmer Nathan Richardson is concerned about Firmus using irrigation water.

He said the amount of water Firmus wants is 'not a lot' compared to farming.

Farmers agreed to let the irrigation pipeline go through their land for farming.

Richardson expects the government to approve Firmus' water use in the best interests of farmers.

He wants Firmus to act in the interests of the local community.

Another farmer, Matt Ryan, is not concerned about the amount of water Firmus wants.

He thinks it's worth considering if it makes the irrigation scheme viable.

Firmus plans to build three data centers in Northern Tasmania.

Firmus claims it will use rainwater to cool its data center on hot days.

Firmus said it will harvest and store rainwater on site as its primary water source.

The company claims it uses a 'very limited amount of water' to cool its data centers.

Firmus said discussions about supplementary water sources are for resilience and contingency planning.

The data center will store 1 million liters of water on site for cooling.

If needed, Firmus will truck water to the site if it can't connect to the irrigation scheme.

AI factories contain data center infrastructure and advanced cooling systems.

The government says no proposal has been made to use irrigation water yet.

A TI spokesperson said no undertaking has been given to Firmus about providing water.

Any application for water from industries outside of agriculture would require government consideration.

Minister Felix Ellis said the government will consider any proposal it receives.

Labor MP Jen Butler is seeking more information about the proposal from the government.

More Tasmania news

Topic: Courts

Topic: Prisons

Topic: AFL

Topic: Oceans

See more ABC coverage in your search results

Promotion

Praticar Escuta