A new data centre consortium has emerged to challenge Technical Real Estate's claims that developers are being scared out of the ACT by opposition to its $1billion Tuggeranong development.
The rival plan could see an investment of up to $500million on a data centre and solar-thermal farm to offset the massive power drain.
The Greens who will hold the balance of power in a new-look ACT Assembly to be announced by the weekend say the new proposal is evidence Technical Real Estate is engaging in brinkmanship.
Greens MLA Amanda Bresnan said the new proposal was a sign the ACT was not reliant on the Tuggeranong data centre.
''I think it says that there are other companies willing to build these sorts of developments, so their [Technical Real Estate's] claims that if they go no one else will come are incorrect,'' she said.
Earlier this week, Technical Real Estate warned it would take its proposal out of the ACT if the Greens went against parliamentary procedure and opposed the Mugga Lane project without heeding the advice of an environmental impact statement.
The consortium behind the new plan includes Sanctuary Energy, Wizard Power and Springfield Land Corporation.
Springfield is currently completing a similar-sized Polaris data centre in south-east Queensland.
It says there are other groups interested in building more data centres in Canberra.
Springfield's commercial executive general manager, Chris Schroor, said the company had been in discussions on the project for about three months.
''We know that there's pent-up demand in Canberra for data centre space, so it's been on our radar for quite some time. We've found a site we believe is suitably zoned for a data centre and we are in mid-range discussions with a potential joint venture,'' Mr Schroor said.
The group said it had made representations to all three major parties in recent months.
But Mr Schroor said the group would not be looking for large government incentives to get the project off the ground.
''We don't need handouts from anybody, it can support itself: we just need some tenants in there,'' he said.
The group's proposal would see a 7000sqm site for the data centre, with a separate 250ha farm for the solar-thermal generation that would provide up to 100MW of power back into the grid.
Earlier in the week, Technical Real Estate director Stephen Ellis said any moves by the Greens or Liberals to see its project moved from the current site would discourage other developers.
He said its consortium with ActewAGL had already spent $3million on the project, a cost that would be lost if they were told to find a new site.
His colleague, Andrew Campbell, said the Tuggeranong project had received unprecedented and unfair scrutiny.
There were other operators looking at building data centres, but not at the same scale.
''It's not at the same level as what we're trying to provide, but I am aware of two other developers in the market, they will always be there and they will be if we leave,'' he said.
Chief Minister Jon Stanhope gave in-principle support for the project. ''A Labor Government would be interested to learn of any proposals and I am pleased that the consortium saw the ACT as a place in which to do business despite the determination of the Liberal Party to undermine independent planning processes,'' he said.
Tony Robey, from Wizard Energy, said representations had been made to the Government.
He said the plant would use solar technology jointly developed at the Australian National University that would see extra power integrated into the system.
Liberal leader Zed Seselja said it was important for the next government to examine all possibilities for data centres in Canberra.
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