Scoping Report

A scoping report is the first document a developer files in a planning process. It defines what an environmental impact assessment must cover for a proposed project. For large data center campuses, it names the site, planned capacity, water use, power connection and likely community effects, so the regulator can set the assessment requirements. In New South Wales, Australia, IREN's proposed 900 MW Redbank campus and CDC's 1.4 GW Wagga Wagga proposal both start with scoping reports lodged with the state planning department. Filing one signals intent, not approval: the detailed impact statement, public exhibition and a determination still follow, and the whole sequence often takes one to three years.