AEMO has forecast that data centre demand could reach 10% of total NEM demand by 2050, up from around 2% today. Australia is becoming one of the largest markets for data centre development globally, with many facilities already operational. The second recommendation requires data centres to contract for firming capacity alongside their renewable energy certificates. The 5 August bill applies the same framework to data centre connections across the state. The firming obligation across all three regulatory streams is expected to drive battery storage co-location alongside data centre renewable energy procurement.