StopProjectPluto

We’re not against jobs or technology. We’re against a 100-megawatt data centre with diesel backup generators 145 metres from homes, approved before most of us knew it existed.

How close is it?

From the signed consent, 23 July 2026

What’s been approved

100 MW

of power, running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Consent A6, B1

170 MW

of diesel backup generators, with up to 2,000 tonnes of diesel stored on site.

Consent A6, A7

173 hours

a year the generators can run outside blackouts. Testing is allowed 7am–6pm Monday to Saturday and 8am–6pm on Sunday.

Consent A7, B1

4.8 ML

of water a day at peak for 26 cooling towers, nearly two Olympic pools. Recycled water is required only where it’s available.

Project documents and consent

No limit

on noise at homes during unplanned blackouts. Otherwise the limit is 37–40 dB(A), rising to 46–49 while the generators run.

Consent B7

25.8 m

tall: two three-storey buildings holding nine data halls.

Project documents

3 years

of construction, with more than 200 vehicle trips a day estimated.

Department assessment

TBC

is all Appendix 2 says. It should list the measures Goodman must take, and three conditions rely on it.

Consent A2, B3, B59

Exhibited for 28 days in 2025

How it got through

1. Apr 2024

   The Department sets the requirements for Goodman’s environmental assessment.

2. 9 May – 5 Jun 2025

   Public exhibition. No residents make a submission, so the Independent Planning Commission never reviews it.

3. 23 Jul 2026

   Approved by a senior Department officer on the Planning Minister’s behalf.

4. Oct 2026

   Residents start hearing about it in the news. A residents’ petition passes 2,000 signatures.

5. Now

   The construction plans still need approval. No work can start until they get it.

Lane Cove spoke up in time

In September 2026 Goodman withdrew Project Mars in Lane Cove West, citing community feedback among its reasons. Lane Cove Council says its 374 public submissions were a record for a NSW data centre.

Pluto is bigger and drew no resident submissions. We missed the exhibition, but construction hasn’t started.

What we’re asking for

No construction until these are in place.

1. Publish the missing measures. Complete Appendix 2 and let residents comment before any construction plan is approved.

2. Recycled water only. Cooling towers should run on recycled water, not drinking water.

3. Tighter generator rules. Fewer hours, no testing on hot or poor-air days, and a public log of every run.

4. Independent noise monitoring. Live, published readings at homes and the sports ground, with limits that apply during blackouts too.

5. A community committee. Residents, sports clubs, Council and Goodman, meeting from before construction starts.

6. Safe construction. Trucks kept away from homes and schools, and no noisy work during weekend sport.

7. A buffer in law. A minimum distance between data centres and homes, schools and sports grounds.

Takes two minutes

Email the people who decide

Pick what worries you and add a line in your own words. A personal line makes your email much harder to ignore.

Show up

Three dates matter most. Turn up in person, or watch online.

Sign and join

Tell your street

Most people around the site still don’t know. Send this to your group chats, sports clubs and school parents.