Cessnock council objects to AirTrunk's $3.7 billion Kurri Kurri data centre

Cessnock City Council has unanimously resolved to lodge a formal objection to AirTrunk's proposed $3.7 billion data centre on the former Hydro Aluminium smelter site at Hart Road, Loxford, near Kurri Kurri. Second Order by TKN dates the vote to 21 October and reports that the council also called for a national pause on data centre approvals until federal rules exist.

According to Newcastle Weekly, the facility would run around the clock with a proposed capacity of roughly 550 megawatts. Figures filed with the application put maximum demand at 550.5 MW, including 352.4 MW of IT load. The building is two storeys and about 16.8 metres high. The shell was approved separately through a complying development certificate, and the state significant application asks for permission to fit out and operate it as a data centre.

Newcastle Weekly reported that the concerns include noise, traffic, electricity use and how close the site sits to homes. Councillor Jessica Jurd questioned whether the location suits a project of this scale given the nearby houses. AirTrunk says the nearest residence is more than 500 metres away and that it is working with the community on the concerns.

AirTrunk has offered a community benefits package valued at more than $37 million, covering local infrastructure and sporting facilities. It also describes a community battery and an energy program that would take $200 a year off the electricity bills of eligible nearby households. The company says the project would create more than 350 ongoing jobs, that it would pay for its own grid connection, and that it would not take community water for cooling.

Because the project is a State Significant Development, the NSW Government, not the council, makes the final decision. The environmental impact statement went on exhibition on 14 October, and submissions close on 11 November. Response to submissions, assessment, recommendation and determination are still to come, and no final approval has been given.

The exhibition period has coincided with new rules on who pays for grid upgrades. Legislation amending the Electricity Infrastructure Investment framework cleared Parliament on 14 October and was assented to on 23 October, though the regulation that sets actual charges has not yet been made. An August energy department consultation paper proposed a Major Network Upgrade Fee with default rates of $200,000 per MW in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong and $100,000 per MW elsewhere. Second Order notes that the connection contract is being finalised before those rules are settled.