Tightening rules for data centresAs PV Tech reported, the AEMC and NSW moved simultaneously on 5 August to tighten data centre energy and grid access rules. NSW has used this model to manage large-scale renewable energy development across zones, including Central-West Orana and New England. Co-located battery storage resolves that problem, converting intermittent renewable energy generation into a firm, schedulable supply commitment. Fluence, a battery storage system integrator, has argued that co-located battery storage can address three distinct commercial problems for data centres simultaneously: load smoothing, cold-start backup and speed to power. The scale of the storage opportunity attached to the data centre policy framework is substantial.