Ms Le Couteur's submission last year to Professor Ross Garnaut's prompted Chief Minister Jon Stanhope and the proponents of the Tuggeranong data centre, Technical Real Estate, to demand that the Greens explain why they opposed the project, which also includes a natural-gas power station.

The Canberra Times revealed yesterday that Ms Le Couteur's submission had strengthened Mr Stanhope's concerns about the Greens' motives for opposing the project.

Greens leader Meredith Hunter criticised Mr Stanhope for airing his concerns in the media instead of discussing those concerns with her privately.

She said the Greens had been clear throughout the election campaign that they supported the $1billion project but opposed the site near Macarthur because of the Government's lack of community consultation.

''Mr Stanhope knows our position, and I am disappointed that this issue came out on the front page of the local newspaper,'' Ms Hunter said.

''I think it is important to understand that the Greens have had a position right through the election, and after the election, that we support a data centre [but] not on the site that is currently being proposed that it needs to be relocated to another site.''

Ms Le Couteur said yesterday she supported TRE's project, but like her Greens colleagues she wanted it moved.

''The reason I stood as a candidate for the Greens was that I care very strongly about climate change and the need to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels is clearly part of that,'' Ms Le Couteur said.

''But my views don't mean that every piece of fossil fuel consumption has got to stop now. Obviously that's not the case.

''My position hasn't changed. Obviously we need to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, but equally obviously we're not all going to go back and live in caves.''