Rio Tinto Weipa: Mining giant’s latest solar farm will help power bauxite mine, community

A mining giant has approved a new solar farm and battery storage at a Far North site that will triple the electricity network’s solar generation capacity. HAVE YOUR SAY

A MINING giant has approved a new solar farm and battery storage at a Far North site that will help triple the electricity network’s solar generation capacity.

Rio Tinto has ticked off on plans for EDL to build, own and operate a 4MW solar plant and 4MW/4MWh of battery, providing cleaner power to the to the Cape York bauxite operation.

The new solar farm – to be built by late 2022 – will support the existing 1.6MW plant completed in 2015 and help provide stable power to the Weipa township.

Rio Tinto will build another solar plant in Weipa similar to this existing one (pictured) to power both the bauxite mine and the Weipa township. Picture: Supplied

Rio’s bauxite operation general manager Michelle Elvy said the project was part of their group-wide commitment to reduce emissions across operations.

“The original Weipa solar farm was the largest solar facility at an off-grid Australian mine site at the time it was built, and it played an important role in showing the viability of renewable energy systems in remote locations,” she said.

“There is clearly more work to be done, but projects like this are an important part of meeting our climate targets.”

Rio Tinto’s bauxite mine on the Cape York Peninsula. Picture: Supplied

EDL boss James Harman said the global energy producer welcomes the opportunity to continue supporting Rio Tinto to reduce carbon emissions.

“EDL will be leveraging expertise from our hybrid renewable energy systems around Australia to deliver clean and reliable energy for Rio Tinto’s operations and the local community,” he said.

When complete, the combined 4MW solar capacity and 4MW/4MWh battery will provide about 11 gigawatt hours of energy annually.

Combined with upgrades to the existing Weipa power generation network, the improvements will reduce Weipa’s diesel consumption by an estimated seven million litres per year and lower its annual carbon dioxide emissions by about 20,000 tonnes – the equivalent of taking more than 3750 cars off the road.

Originally published as Rio Tinto Weipa: Mining giant’s latest solar farm will help power bauxite mine, community