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New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Australia powers up large-scale solar and storage facility
13/12/2023
News
A new solar farm and battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Northern Goldfields, Australia, is expected to help BHP reduce Scope 2 emissions at its Nickel West northern mining operations by 12%.
The collaboration between BHP and renewable energy provider TransAlta is claimed to be one of the world’s largest off-grid mining, solar and battery energy storage systems, featuring about 70,000 solar panels across 90 hectares of land.
The facility includes a 27.4 MW solar farm at Mt Keith, and a 10.7 MW solar farm and 10.1 MW battery at Leinster, which is integrated into TransAlta’s Northern Goldfields remote power grid.
According to BHP Australia President Geraldine Slattery, the project marks a significant step towards the company’s goal of decarbonising its operations by 30% by 2030, from a 2020 baseline, and will help it become ‘one of the most sustainable nickel providers in the world’.
‘Nickel is in high demand for batteries and electric vehicles, and this progress is part of our commitment to delivering more sustainable, lower carbon product to our customers,’ she adds.
The initiative is one of many ways in which Nickel West is trying to reduce its operational emissions – it is also considering wind farms in the northern and southern Goldfields.
BHP Nickel West Asset President Jessica Farrell reports that the new hybrid solar and BESS facility will help Nickel West reduce Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions at the company’s northern operations by 12%, resulting in an estimated reduction of 54,000 tCO2e/y.
The project represents a first for both companies. It is BHP’s first on-site, large-scale renewable project globally and TransAlta’s first renewable energy facility in Australia. It is also the first time the TransAlta has combined solar and battery storage to offer a hybrid solution.
Congratulating BHP and TransAlta on the inauguration of their ‘game-changing renewable energy facility’, Western Australian Minister for Mines and Petroleum; Energy, Bill Johnston said: ‘It’s projects like these that are setting a global standard of what a modern mine looks like, with a big focus on the environment and reducing carbon emissions.’
