News
19 October, 2026
Gas plant hearing starts on-site Tuesday
Another day, another call for the community to come together in the on-going fight against inappropriate development in the Southern Highlands.
Another day, another call for the community to come together in the on-going fight against inappropriate development in the Southern Highlands.
While hundreds of people are expected to gather in Beaconsfield Road in Moss Vale on Monday (October 19) for the commencement of Land and Environment Court proceedings relating to the controversial Repoly plastics recycling facility, just as many people are expected to turn out on Tuesday (October 20) for the commencement of proceedings relating to a proposed gas plant in the same area.
Plans for a 16MW gas plant at the Southern Highlands Data Campus in Douglas Road are being challenged by Wingecarribee Shire Council in the Land and Environment Court.
Proceedings will commence on-site at 30 Douglas Road on Tuesday with a number of local residents given the opportunity to address the Commissioner.
Those people concerned about this proposal – and the cumulative impacts of potentially three gas plants on the same site – are being urged to attend.
One of those plants (14MW) has already been approved while a State Significant Development (DDS) application for a third and much larger plant (673.2MW) is currently with the NSW Government.
The three plants would have a combined capacity of 703MW, making it one of the largest gas-fired power plants in Australia.
Opponents have raised concerns about the impact of the plant on the environment and human health.
They say such a development shouldn’t be located in such close proximity to homes or in a precinct designated for clean, innovative energy.
All three plants would be used to run a private AI data centre with few – if any – local benefits.
Tuesday’s hearing is scheduled to commence at 10am.
Those people planning on attending are reminded it will be a formal court hearing and they will be expected to conduct themselves exactly as if they were in a courtroom.
That will mean no placards, banners or t-shirts and no chanting or visible demonstrations.
More than 200 people attended an on-site Land and Environment Court conciliation conference in May this year while approximately 400 people attended a gas plant forum at the Moss Vale RSL Club in August – indicating there is a significant level of concern about the project and its potential impacts.
Heather Champion from Stop the Gas Plant – Southern Highlands said the Land and Environment Court took community opposition seriously into consideration when making their decisions.
She said the more people that show up, the clearer the message would be to the Court that the community did not support the proposal.
“So, if we show up in numbers, they have to take it into account,” she said.
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