The Economic Perspective 22 May 2026
- May 22
- 3 min read
The Latest Trending Economic News Curated for You by Balmoral Group Australia
Hello Dear Readers,
This week we're focusing on the future of energy. Firstly, discussions between Australian Climate Minister and the European Commissioner for Energy and Housing may spur a new global electrification initiative. Meanwhile, data centre innovations are trending towards ocean settings for wave energy and seawater cooling.
Closer to home, new drilling techniques could unlock geothermal power as a viable source of steady energy, while CSIRO's modelling and engineering is chipping away at optimising large-scale solar farms. This week's data visualisation is a figure from the IEA showcasing. It highlights the explosive rise in data centre energy demands, illustrating the need for efficiency innovations.
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Hope you enjoy the articles and have a lovely weekend!
Energy discussions between European Commissioner Jørgensen and Minister Bowen
Yesterday DCCEEW released a joint readout between Australia's Minister for Climate change and Energy and Dan Jørgensen, European Commissioner for Energy and Housing.
The pair discussed the impact of the Middle East conflict on energy supply chains and prices, with both governments agreeing that building domestic energy capacity is the most durable solution, with electrification as the centerpiece. EU-AUS collaboration on a new global electrification initiative was also discussed. Read more here.
Panthalassa's Floating, Wave-Powered Data Centre Technology
Ocean-based data centres powered by wave energy are gaining traction in order to meet the booming energy demand spurred by AI use. Panthalassa's floating data centres use 85 metre "node" structures to force seawater through a turbine, generating electricity to power AI chips housed in a seawater-cooled container. Another data centre near Shanghai operates underwater for cooling purposes, while wind power covers up to 95% of operating requirements. Read more here.
Geothermal 2.0: how super hot rocks underground could help power Australia
Geothermal energy may present an opportunity to diversify Australian energy streams. New deep drilling techniques may open up access to superhot rocks at temperatures above 350°C, whereas previously geothermal ventures were limited to natural structures like geysers and volcanoes. In these conditions, water changes to supercritical fluid, carrying up to ten times more energy than steam or liquid water. Geothermal energy is steady and unaffected by day-night cycles, and US researchers estimate geothermal could supply up to three times as much power as nuclear within 25 years, despite currently supplying 1% of global renewable electricity. Read more here.
Shaping Australia’s future energy landscape through smarter large-scale solar
CSIRO researchers are developing models to address challenges around deployment of large scale solar farms, which are projected to supply nearly a quarter of Australia's energy by 2050. The research agenda includes modelling impacts on agricultural profitability to quantify trade-offs of rural energy developments, and modelling various layout and operation systems for peak performance. Researchers are also exploring self-cleaning photovoltaic panels to repel dirt and dust, and maintenance robots. Read more here.
Global data centre electricity consumption, by equipment, Base Case 2020-2030
This figure from the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows projections for data energy consumption. The y axis shows consumption in TWh, and the near five-fold rise in base-case electricity consumption demonstrates the clear need for efficiency innovations in the AI and data centre sector.
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