GreenSquare opens reused Sydney data centre for AI

GreenSquare has brought the first stage of its SYD1 data centre campus in Western Sydney into operation. The facility was created through the adaptive reuse of a data centre that first opened in 1995.

Completed in eight months, the site in Norwest Business Park has been reconfigured to handle high-density artificial intelligence workloads. Its first customer is Sharon AI, a Nasdaq-listed NVIDIA Cloud Partner, which plans to deploy about 8,200 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs at the facility.

According to GreenSquare, the deployment represents a large installation of NVIDIA HGX B300 infrastructure in Australia. The redesign focused on reusing much of the existing structure rather than demolishing the building and starting again.

Under the new layout, the data halls were moved to the ground floor, allowing the facility to support the latest generation of dense computing equipment without extra structural reinforcement.

GreenSquare said the redesign increased IT capacity within the original building footprint by 275%. An independent assessment by engineering consultants TTW found the project retained 92% of the building's existing structural carbon.

TTW also found that using the existing structure alongside low-carbon concrete cut structural upfront carbon per square metre by 76% compared with a new-build facility. On a per-kilowatt basis of IT capacity, the reduction was 93%.

Cooling redesign

The facility was also redesigned to use less energy and water. GreenSquare said SYD1 has a projected power usage effectiveness of 1.20 and a potable water usage effectiveness of less than 0.1 litres per kilowatt-hour, both below New South Wales Government guideline benchmarks of 1.25 and 1.0 respectively.

Its cooling system uses a closed-loop design that operates without evaporative cooling for about 96% of the year, replacing the building's original cooling towers, which used more water.

Rainwater harvesting is expected to meet about 10% of annual cooling water demand, reducing reliance on potable water supplies.

Joshua Martens, Chief Technology Officer at GreenSquare, said: "We saw an opportunity to give a 30-year-old data centre a completely new purpose. By rethinking the building's configuration, introducing prefabricated systems design, and using the latest technology to reduce carbon, we've created a facility that can support some of today's most demanding compute requirements while using resources far more efficiently."

Build programme

Main construction started in February 2026, with around 400 people on site at peak activity. Teams worked around the clock during critical stages of the programme, and the project recorded more than 350,000 hours worked without a lost-time injury.

GreenSquare worked with Erilyan on construction and delivery of the facility. Fredon handled electrical infrastructure and commissioning.

The project forms the first stage of a broader SYD1 campus. The New South Wales Government's Investment Delivery Authority has endorsed support for a proposed second stage with 80 MW of capacity.

GreenSquare said completion of SYD1 Stage 1 marks a further step in the expansion of its Australian data centre portfolio. The company is backed by programmes managed by Partners Group.

For Sharon AI, the new site provides the foundation for one of the larger known GPU deployments in the country. The first stage is now operational, with about 8,200 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs set for installation at the facility.