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Firmus says diesel generators only for emergencies
AI data centre builder Firmus told a parliamentary inquiry it would use backup generators only in emergencies, but the company is appealing a council condition that restricts them to exactly that.
In brief
AI data centre builder Firmus told a parliamentary inquiry it would use backup generators only in emergencies, but the company is appealing a council condition that restricts them to exactly that. Firmus told Tasmania's parliament it would use diesel generators only for emergencies, contradicting its appeal against a…
Firmus faces inquiry over generators
AI data centre builder Firmus Technologies told a Tasmanian parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday it would only use diesel generators during emergencies, despite appealing a council condition restricting them to exactly that.
Firmus operates across multiple countries
Firmus has operational AI data centres in Melbourne and Singapore, and is planning more in Tasmania, South Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia. The company builds infrastructure for training large language models and processing AI chatbot queries.
Three Tasmanian sites planned
Firmus is building an AI data centre in the Launceston suburb of St Leonards, has approval for another at Long Reach in northern Tasmania, and is seeking approval for a third at Wesley Vale in…
Council imposed emergency-only condition
When Firmus gained planning approval for Long Reach, George Town Council imposed a condition that two hundred seventy-six backup diesel generators could only be used during emergencies, maintenance and testing.
Firmus appeals the restriction
Firmus appealed the condition, calling it unreasonable and stating it would prevent use during periods of energy market stress.Tasmania's Environment Protection Authority sought to join the appeal, saying it would have assessed the proposal differently.
“unreasonable”
Firmus energy manager addresses inquiry
Firmus energy manager Paul Grzinic told the inquiry that diesel generators are backup generation not intended for commercial convenience or any means other than emergency situations.
“They are not intended, as others have claimed, for us to run these when commercially convenient, or any other means other than in an emergency situation.”
Greens MP questions the contradiction
Greens MP and acting inquiry chair Tabatha Badger pressed Firmus on the contradiction between saying generators are for emergencies only while appealing a condition that restricts them to exactly that use.
“You say it's only for emergency use, that's what the condition was imposed by the council, and yet you're appealing that.”
Firmus declines to name customers
When asked by Badger who Firmus's customers were, co-chief executive Tim Rosenfield declined to say, citing security and contractual confidentiality reasons. He said disclosing customers is not industry practice for data centre developers.
“Like any commercial data centre developer, if you look at some of our listed peers in Australia, it's not normal practice to disclose who your customers are.”
IPO withdrawal does not change plans
Firmus withdrew its planned initial public offering last month, which would have been the biggest float in the Australian share market since Telstra in nineteen ninety-seven. Rosenfield said the company's growth plans remain unchanged.
“An IPO is just a means to a transaction, we decided not to pursue that particular transaction but that doesn't change our growth plans, not one bit.”
Inquiry continues with student protests
The parliamentary inquiry will continue hearings with stakeholders before making recommendations to the government. Outside parliament, students protested, calling for AI companies to be transparent about water use, energy use and diesel generator plans.
The short version
Firmus told Tasmania's parliament it would use diesel generators only for emergencies, contradicting its appeal against a council condition limiting them to emergency use.
