Beetaloo Energy Ltd (ASX: BTL) shares took off on Wednesday morning after the company announced the launch of Beetaloo Digital, which will aim to play in the data centre space.
Diversifying into technology
The emerging gas producer said in a statement to the ASX that it had been granted an exclusive right to develop an 185-hectare site south of Darwin into an integrated power and data centre development.
The company added:
The land has been granted on an exclusive basis, giving Beetaloo Energy the certainty to secure consortium partners and progress pre-FEED studies. The proposed development is intended to accelerate development of Beetaloo Energy’s Beetaloo Basin gas resource, creating a significant and durable domestic market, with the remaining capacity to be underpinned by the continuous energy demand of data centre operations.
Beetaloo said the site was adjacent to the Northern Territory Government’s proposed Darwin Energy Hub, and had the potential to complement the hub’s planned large-scale solar generation and battery storage by providing firm generation capacity.
The company added that the proposal had the potential to create a significant new gas market for Beetaloo Energy, with each gigawatt of compute power requiring up to 200 terajoules per day of gas for power generation.
Beetaloo Energy Managing Director Alex Underwood said:
The NT Government’s grant of exclusivity over strategically located land at Weddell is a milestone for Beetaloo Energy and for the Northern Territory. The Weddell site gives us a strong foundation to advance discussions with potential consortium partners, scale, proximity to existing and planned infrastructure, and Beetaloo Energy’s significant gas resources. Beetaloo Digital does not propose to consume power from the Northern Territory grid, we intend to add to it. We intend to overbuild gereration capacity, providing the NT the potential to gain a reliable, large-scale baseload electricity source as a direct outcome of this development. As such, this project is aligned with the Prime Minister’s recently announced Data Centre grid mandate requirements. Darwin’s proximity to Asia-Pacific markets, its subsea cable connectivity, and the Northern Territory Government’s backing make this an infrastructure opportunity that we believe is unmatched anywhere in the region.
Mr Underwood said Beetaloo Digital would be looking for partners for its project across data centre development, power generation, and pipeline infrastructure.
ASX energy share jumps on the news
Beetaloo Energy shares jumped 16.7% on the news to 29.75 cents.
The company also recently confirmed that first gas sales from its pilot project in the NT were expected in the fourth quarter of CY26.
The post Gas producer or data centre company? Why is this ASX energy share up 16% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.
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