Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest’s Fortescue wants to build a 5.4GW renewable power hub to run its Pilbara mines
Fortescue Future Industries says a giant wind and solar farm in the Pilbara could power its entire iron ore operations.
Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries wants to build a giant renewable energy hub 100km south of the mining magnate’s family cattle station to power Fortescue’s Pilbara iron ore operations.
Plans lodged by FFI with the West Australian environment watchdog were made public on Wednesday.
They show the Fortescue subsidiary plans to build up to 5.4 gigawatts of wind and solar generation capacity – including 340 wind turbines and a solar farm – on the Uaroo and Emu Creek pastoral leases, south of Mr Forrest’s Minderoo station.
Its plans also include a major battery installation.
Uaroo station is owned by Harvest Road – part of the corporate empire of Dr Forrest’s private investment arm, Tattarang.
FFI said it had begun consulting the owners of the neighbouring Emu Creek station – pastoralists Kurt and Nikki Elezovich, who bought Emu Creek in 2017 – over the development.
The company said it has also been discussing its plans with Thalanyji native title holders of the land it plans to use for the renewable energy plant, and is wording towards “settling a heritage agreement”.
Fortescue will link the renewable energy plant to its Eliwana mining hub through a 220kV power line, and says the giant wind and solar farm is a vital step in meeting its plans to be net carbon neutral by 2030.
“The implementation of the proposal will enable Fortescue to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by at least 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to well below 2C compared to pre-industrial levels,” FFI says in the environmental documents.
The power plant would, in theory, produce almost as much power as WA’s entire South West Integrated System, which powers both Perth and the rest of the south west of the state. The Uaroo hub would eventually include 340 wind turbines, capable of generating up to 2.04GW of power, and a solar farm potentially worth another 3.33GW.
But the planned renewable energy centre is deep inland within the Pilbara and – while FFI has been the biggest corporate champion of the development of green hydrogen – the proposal makes no mention of its use to produce hydrogen on site, saying the entire project is expected to use 200 megalitres of water each year.
The plans lodged by FFI do not put a cost on the energy hub, but Rio Tinto has previously put the development cost of a 1GW solar and wind hub to partly power its own operations at $US1.5bn.
FFI said it wants to begin construction work as soon as it receives approval.
“Establishment of the Uaroo Renewable Energy Hub is a critical component of achieving net-zero emissions from FMG mining operations by 2030,” the company said. “Construction works will commence following receipt of all necessary approvals and are anticipated to run for approximately seven years. Renewable energy generation and electricity transmission infrastructure will be progressively constructed and commissioned in stages.”
FFI will need to clear more than 10,000ha of land for the wind and solar farm, with each of the 250m tall wind turbines needing 750sq m of cleared area for a resting pad.
The company said it would need to build a construction camp capable of housing the 1600 workers needed to build the hub, with about 100 workers needed to run and maintain the infrastructure when it is fully built.
FFI chief executive Julie Shuttleworth said in a statement that the company believed WA was “well-positioned to participate in the global renewable energy transition. This will support Fortescue’s industry leading commitment to achieve carbon neutrality for Scope 1 and 2 emissions in its mining operations by 2030.”
Fortescue shares closed down 80c to $21.43 on Wednesday.
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