Gas power plant for data centre in Australia may be mothballed — ABC News Australia

In Moss Vale, Australia, developer Nakar Property told a court that the proposed gas power plant for a data centre could be mothballed as soon as the electricity grid can provide the facility with reliable power. This was reported by ABC News.

Appeal after council refusal

The New South Wales Land and Environment Court is hearing Nakar Property’s appeal after Wingecarribee Shire Council refused to approve the construction of a 16-megawatt power plant and energy storage system in Moss Vale. The project is valued at 23 million Australian dollars.

The power plant is one of three planned to supply a data centre campus proposed by Sydney-based company Cloud Carrier. Nakar Property’s lawyer, James Smith, said the gas power plant was needed to guarantee electricity supply to the data centre’s customers. According to him, Cloud Carrier’s investment in computer equipment amounts to around 1 billion Australian dollars.

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Possible grid connection

Smith said the developers would stop using the gas power plant after securing a reliable electricity supply from the grid. He noted that connecting to the grid could reduce costs by approximately 14 million Australian dollars per year, but there is currently insufficient available capacity.

Citing expert opinions, Nakar Property’s representative also said that by around 2029, the power plant is projected to produce lower greenhouse gas emissions than supplying the data centre from the grid. At the same time, the council’s lawyer, Michael Staunton, argued that the grid connection option had not been sufficiently explored.

Staunton also said that for two years, the data centre would not have guaranteed power to operate its servers at full capacity, until upgrades to a nearby substation operated by Endeavour Energy are completed. The hearing is due to continue on Thursday with the cross-examination of experts.