Kawerau A-8-D Ahu Whenua Trust and two other groups want a 35-year consent to build a station and take water.
The trust has made the request to the Bay of Plenty Regional council, and the Kawerau and Whakatane district councils, asking to build on its own block of land above the Kawerau Geothermal Reservoir.
The hearing is also looking at the cultural effects the proposal might have.
Ngati Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau has raised a range of cultural and environmental concerns about the project, including the proposed site being the birthplace of Tuwharetoa, and that the plant's transmission lines would require vegetation to be cleared from around the Parimahana Scenic Reserve.
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