Arabic version: استئناف بشأن محطة غاز في المرتفعات الجنوبية يصل إلى المحكمة

According to ABC News, Nakar Property has taken its proposed 16-megawatt gas-fired power plant and battery storage system in Moss Vale to the Land and Environment Court after Wingecarribee Shire Council refused the application. The facility is intended to power data centres on Cloud Carrier’s Moss Vale site.

Seven community members gave evidence at the proposed development site on Tuesday, opening a three-day hearing. More than 100 community members joined Land and Environment Court Commissioner Nicola Targett and representatives of the council and applicant in an open field at Moss Vale.

Speakers urged the court to weigh the proposal alongside other gas plants planned for the site. Nakar Property has approval for a separate 14MW gas-fired plant and is seeking state government approval for a third, 673MW facility. Dane Shanahan told the court that individual elements were being assessed separately while no-one was considering the whole development. Nearby resident Gabby Kent said planning processes might be separate, but cumulative impacts on her family and community were not.

Shanahan also said Gundungurra people had not been consulted for the development application’s Aboriginal Heritage Assessment, despite the cultural importance of a waterway that would be cut off by the project. The applicant submitted an amended plan before the hearing, including green-painted exhaust stacks and onsite solar generation. Lawyers for the applicant and the council are due to present evidence in coming days.