{"id":453050,"date":"2026-06-30T03:44:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=453050"},"modified":"2026-06-30T03:44:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T10:44:02","slug":"nsw-eco-activists-horrified-that-their-new-industrial-park-needs-a-power-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=453050","title":{"rendered":"NSW Eco-Activists Horrified That Their New Industrial Park Needs a Power Plant"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by Eric Worrall<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c\u2026 We were all on board, thinking it was going to attract some really interesting small-scale industries like electric cars, photovoltaics \u2026 things like that. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How is that a good deal?\u2019: Outrage at Southern Highlands data centre<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Greg Bearup<\/a><\/strong> Senior writer<\/em>
Jun 26, 2026 \u2013 5.00am<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The AI boom has landed in the wealthy region with a speculative plan to supersize a hub and power it with a new gas plant. Locals are fighting back.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cloud Carrier plans to build a data centre on the outskirts of Moss Vale, powered by a 673-megawatt gas power station.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If built, it would be among the largest gas plants in the state and would put a serious dent in the state\u2019s efforts to reduce carbon emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis [industrial park] had been sold to us as a positive thing,\u201d says McKay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were all on board, thinking it was going to attract some really interesting small-scale industries like electric cars, photovoltaics \u2026 things like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are a very environmentally minded community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all trying to do the right thing on an individual small scale, and then you have this thing, which would not only wipe out any emissions we\u2019re saving, but the emissions of the entire state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kean, now chairman of the federal Climate Change Authority, says data centres should be underwriting new renewables projects, not new fossil fuel projects.

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/www.afr.com\/technology\/not-in-my-back-paddock-data-centre-plan-sparks-fury-in-rural-nsw-20260619-p608gu<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What an interesting and complex situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The countryside in that part of the world is beautiful \u2013 amazing landscape, boutique restaurants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And to be fair, the industrial park was sold as a green innovation hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Southern Highlands Innovation Park (SHIP)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Offering unique opportunities to attract sustainable and innovative industries, the SHIP positions itself as a major economic driver for the Shire and the broader region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Project:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Southern Highlands Innovation Park (SHIP) is a regionally significant employment precinct comprising some 1,053 hectares of industrial zoned land between Moss Vale and Berrima. This precinct provides a unique opportunity to attract sustainable and innovative industries and become a major employer and economic driver for the Shire and the broader region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The adopted SHIP Master Plan<\/a> outlines implementation strategies to realise its long-term vision for the precinct, including a targeted rezoning of the southeastern portion of the SHIP from E4 General Industrial to E3 Productivity Support. See below for more details on the Planning Proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026Read more: https:\/\/participatewingecarribee.wsc.nsw.gov.au\/ship<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There is something terribly unrealistic about expecting \u201cindustries like electric cars, photovoltaics \u2026 things like that<\/em>\u201d to be powered by a few genteel solar panels on the roofs of the ecologically sensitive boutique cottage industries the locals obviously expected their new industrial park to attract, or a discrete solar park out of sight behind a hill nobody cares about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Australia has a terrifying shortage of onshore AI capacity. Australia\u2019s strict data privacy laws<\/a> make sharing code and data with offshore data providers legally risky. Without more onshore data capacity, the Australian economy, the cornerstone of the prosperity enjoyed by wealthy land owners in places like Moss Vale, will be at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who thinks AI doesn\u2019t deliver transformative productivity gains, I recommend you read my article on vibe coding, which contains a complete start to finish demonstration of how powerful this new technology is. My vibe code example was driven by AI data centers in the USA \u2013 to the best of my knowledge Australia has no domestic data centers which can deliver this level of capability. And it\u2019s not just code \u2013 as my article below details, vibe production, which extends accelerated product development cycles to all sectors of the economy, is very rapidly becoming a thing.<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why Artificial Intelligence will Win the Green Energy War<\/a><\/blockquote>