News

Here is a type of development application we are sure to see more of; to build a power supply for a new data centre.

Nakar Property Pty Ltd is seeking approvals to construct and operate a gas-fired generator plant facility, backed up by a battery, to supply additional power to the Southern Highlands Data Campus (SHDC) located at Moss Vale in NSW’s Southern Highlands, 130km south-west of the Sydney CBD.

Seven new gas generator sets each with a capacity of 3.3 MW for a total site output of 16 MW are planned, together with an 80 MW BESS “to store any excess energy created by the Generator Hall to store for future demand”.

It is planned to install the generator sets in stages to match the power supply demand from Cloud Carrier’s Southern Highlands Data Campus, which itself is scalable for expansion over a 67-hectare site.

According to Cloud Carrier, “The SHDC campus features onsite power generation with 300MW+ capacity, ensuring independence from the electricity grid and providing reliable energy supply for uninterrupted operations.”

The first centre, Data Building One, is a 15 MW facility with capacity to expand the Campus to 300 MW.

Gas for the generators will be supplied by Jemena’s existing natural gas network. However eventually renewable gas supplies may be used with biomethane and green hydrogen possibly supplied by Jemena.

Utility Jemena is trialling hydrogen mixed into natural gas pipelines at its Western Sydney Hydrogen Hub project and injecting biomethane into the gas network at its Malabar Biomethane Injection Plant.

The proposed BESS will consist of the installation of 40 containerised battery units, each with a capacity of 2 MW, and associated equipment also built in stages to match power supply demand.

SHDC owner Cloud Carrier points to the campus’s sustainability credentials, including cooling water efficiency and technology to reduce energy consumption which “translates into energy savings and major reductions in carbon emissions”.

There is no mention of greenhouse gas emissions in the development application for the SHDC  power supply, only that “The Project is predicted to result in relatively low emissions and would not result in any significant air pollution that may adversely impact residential land uses”.