Public swimming pools in the United Kingdom have been capturing the heat off data centres to keep the water warm and the ACT Greens want the idea considered in Canberra.
But Chief Minister Andrew Barr has ruled it out, arguing pools and data centres would not mix in the capital's residential areas.
The Greens will this week bring on a debate in the Legislative Assembly about the ACT's approach to data centres, including calling for a more intensive community consultation and a data centre levy to capture the value of the artificial intelligence boom for the community.
The Greens also want the Assembly to call on the government to consider "innovative options such as co-locating data centres with public pools to use cooling water as a heating source".
Deep Green, a tech start up, has attracted significant investment in its projects that offer free heat off data centres to warm swimming pools.
The company provides the data centres, dubbed "digital boilers", to the pools free and makes money by selling the server capacity.
"Placing data centres within the fabric of society transforms the waste heat they produce into a valuable resource that benefits communities," Deep Green founder and chief executive Mark Bjornsgaard said in 2024.
"The data centre sector is rightly facing scrutiny about its growing energy demand and associated carbon emissions. Our data centres are highly energy efficient and support local communities with free heat."
A Deep Green data centre the size of a washing machine produced enough heat to keep a 25-metre indoor pool at 30 degrees for about 60 per cent of the time, saving the council-owned pool thousands of pounds in heating costs, the BBC reported in 2023.
Canberra has its own history of using excess heat to keep a swimming pool warm. The refrigeration system for the ice-skating rink at Phillip was built so the heat it generated while keeping the rink cold could warm the water in the outdoor swimming pool.
Mr Barr said public swimming pools were important for the community and supported recreation and health, as well as swimming lessons and sport.
"They should be planned, protected and developed for those purposes," Mr Barr said.
"The ACT Greens have suggested co-locating data centres with public pools to utilise waste heat. While recovering waste heat may present worthwhile energy-efficiency opportunities, it is not a justification for locating data-centre infrastructure on public aquatic sites in suburban Canberra."
Mr Barr said he had formally advised ACT Greens leader Jo Clay that Labor was opposed to the proposal.
The ACT government has faced significant community pressure over outdoor swimming pools, with residents frustrated by the lack of progress towards reopening of the Big Splash water park in Macquarie and the proposed redevelopment of the 50-metre outdoor pool at Phillip.
A promised data centre strategy for the ACT would put water security and clear planning rules at its centre, the government said in August.
The ACT government said it would develop a data centre framework designed to protect residential areas, housing and water while also backing the centres' ability to create jobs and economic growth, and also release a new artificial intelligence statement on how the technology can empower workers.
The strategy would also consider how future data centres could be built alongside renewable energy and battery storage projects.
Consultation has already begun and a draft data centre framework is due for release early next year.
