Toowoomba Suppliers Win Early Data Centre Contracts Amid National Demand Surge

Toowoomba engineering outfit Highfields Power Solutions signed a $1.8 million supply deal last month for modular cooling units destined for a planned data facility near Oakey.

The contract comes as national concerns over AI-driven electricity loads push developers to examine inland locations with available grid capacity and lower land costs than capital cities.

Two local addresses already seeing activity

Work crews have been sighted on the old Toowoomba Showgrounds site off Clifford Street where a temporary substation upgrade is under way. Further east on Ruthven Street, the Toowoomba Regional Council approved a planning variation in May that allows 24-hour construction access for a fibre-link contractor tied to the same project.

Both locations sit inside the 10-kilometre radius the state government flagged in its 2025 regional digital infrastructure guidelines for priority energy upgrades.

Numbers that matter to local operators

Land parcels zoned for light industry in the Westbrook industrial estate traded at an average $620 per square metre in the June quarter, according to Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise records. That figure sits 18 percent below comparable Brisbane fringe blocks and has drawn three site inspections by national data-centre developers since April.

Highfields Power Solutions reported a 27 percent rise in its order book for the financial year ending June 2026, with the data-centre pipeline now accounting for one third of new revenue.

Businesses still evaluating entry points should contact the council’s economic development team before the end of July to register interest in the next round of substation access slots. Early registration secures a place on the tender list for the 2027 grid augmentation works already budgeted at the state level.