- BHP and Alinta sign PPA for 45MW solar park in Western Australia.O
- A 35 MW battery energy storage system will be connected to the solar project.
The Australian mining group BHP Group signs a power off-take deal with Alinta Energy, a power and gas company that will underpin the construction of a 45-MW solar park in Western Australia. The power purchase agreement (PPA) allows BHP to meet all of the daytime energy needs of its Port Hedland iron ore export facilities with solar electricity by 2024. As a result, Alinta said the site’s reported energy emissions would halve as compared to 2020 levels.
The agreement will make it easier to build and link a photovoltaic (PV) park that is roughly 14 kilometres away from BHP’s port facilities to the grid. In addition, a 35 MW battery energy storage system will be connected to the solar project.
Construction on the solar park is awaiting final regulatory approval; it is planned to open in December. While its production will meet BHP’s Port Hedland operations’ daytime energy needs, the battery and Alinta’s current gas-fueled power plants will satisfy its remaining power requirements.
The medium-term objective of BHP is to reduce operational emissions from fiscal 2020 levels by at least 30% by 2030. In addition, the mining giant will work to attain net zero operational emissions by 2050 in the long run. BHP and Alinta have also signed a memorandum of understanding for a 45-MW wind project, dubbed Shay Gap, expected to become operational in 2027.