AirTrunk, a data centre operator, and European Energy Australia have signed an exclusivity agreement covering solar, storage and wind projects in the Hunter-Central Coast renewable energy zone (REZ), according to an AirTrunk press release dated 12 November 2026. The projects are intended to supply part of the campus the operator is proposing at Kurri Kurri, in New South Wales. The site is a former aluminium smelter in the Hunter region. The electrical load requested by the campus would be considerable at the scale of the regional grid, which places its power supply at the centre of the file.

An exclusivity that does not amount to a supply contract

The agreement reserves these projects for AirTrunk for the duration of the negotiation. It is not a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA): such a contract is only under discussion. The projects remain subject to approvals, technical assessments and grid connection arrangements. The press release headline highlights a total that adds production and storage, whereas production alone, solar and wind combined, is markedly lower. Other battery deployments are under way elsewhere, such as Fox ESS's 30.096 MWh system in Hranice.

The solar and battery components are expected ahead of the wind component, but both would come after the campus's envisaged opening. The source of electricity for the first years of operation is therefore not documented by this agreement. AirTrunk itself acknowledges that these projects will not be enough: more renewable generation and backup capacity (firming, meaning batteries or gas that offset intermittency) will be needed. Integrating variable generation is also an issue elsewhere, with Turkey having reached a record 9.9 billion kWh of solar and wind output.

Projects well below the estimated requirement

The company has publicly put forward an order of magnitude of several gigawatts of new generation per gigawatt of demand. Applied to the campus's load, it places the output of the Hunter projects well below the estimated requirement. AirTrunk aims to cover all of its electricity consumption with renewable purchases by the end of the decade.

The share achieved to date is measured over a full financial year, with fiscal year 2026 running from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026. It covers the operator's entire portfolio, not the Kurri Kurri campus. That share has not increased over the recent period, and the cause of the stagnation is not documented. Another, higher figure circulates for the Sydney and Melbourne data centres alone, but it relates to a different scope. Coverage calculated over a year does not imply renewable supply in every hour: New South Wales rules target an average correlation between new supply and flat demand, not full coverage at every moment.

The players involved

AirTrunk, owned by Blackstone and CPP Investments since the 2024 acquisition, is led by its founder Robin Khuda, chief executive. European Energy Australia, the Australian subsidiary opened in 2022 by Danish developer European Energy, founded in 2004, has Catriona McLeod as Managing Director. No leadership change has been identified at either company over the period.

The file also involves Ausgrid, the distribution network operator, EnergyCo, the New South Wales public body in charge of renewable energy zones, and Cessnock City Council. A Snowy Hydro gas plant is located near the Kurri Kurri site.