- CrossBoundary Energy will supply an 8MWp solar facility to the Tolagnari mine.
- QIT Madagascar Minerals aims to reduce its CO2 emissions by investing in renewable energy.
CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) is set to install an 8MWp solar photovoltaic power plant at the Tolagnaro ilmenite mine operated by QIT Madagascar Minerals (QMM), the Anglo-Australian subsidiary of Rio Tinto, commencing in 2022. The facility will consist of about 18,000 panels to power the site’s operations and reduce its annual carbon emissions by at least 26,000 tons.
The solar farm will be built and commissioned by energy provider CrossBoundary Energy (CBE), which signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with QMM. Following the 8 MWp solar power installation, the firm will deploy a wind farm with nine turbines for 12MW in 2023. The two clean energy facilities will have a combined capacity of 20MW and will be coupled with an 8.25MWh lithium-ion battery storage system to meet 60 per cent of QMM’s annual electricity needs.
In the long term, these two facilities of the Jakob Stausholm-led mining group will also provide electricity to 80,000 people in the city of Fort Dauphin.