Perth-based Pacific Energy will design and deliver a new 62 MW off-grid hybrid renewable energy generation and storage solution that will help power minerals companies AngloGold Ashanti Australia and Regis Resources’ Tropicana gold mine, located about 330 kilometres northeast of Kalgoorlie.
The expansion project, due to be completed in 2025, will comprise a 24 MW solar farm, four 6 MW wind turbines and a 14 MW battery energy storage system. The hybrid renewables system, to be delivered under a 10-year build-own-operate agreement, will be coupled with Pacific Energy’s existing 52 MW gas-powered system at the mine site.
An intelligent control system, which has been developed in-house by Pacific Energy, has been designed to optimise input from the renewable energy and storage technologies and allow the system to run on 100% renewables for extended periods of time, helping to support AngloGold’s strategy to reduce its global carbon emissions from energy use by 30% by 2030.
Pacific Energy Chief Executive Officer Jamie Cullen said the integration of renewables into the existing power system would help the miner “decarbonise their operations without losing power reliability or efficiency.”
“This is an excellent outcome,” he said. “We expect our new system to reduce the mine site’s overall power generation emissions by 50%. It’s a really exciting prospect for us and AngloGold Ashanti, and one we’ve worked hard to achieve.”
The integration of renewables is expected to reduce Tropicana’s diesel and gas consumption for power generation by 96% and 50% respectively, slashing carbon emissions by an average of 65,000 tonnes per annum over the life of the agreement.
Delivery of the project will be coordinated by Pacific Energy’s Remote Energy and Integrated Renewables divisions with the battery energy storage system, high-voltage switch room and PV ring main units to be manufactured in house at its WA-based facilities.
Pacific Energy is expected to begin site works next month, with the project due for completion in early 2025.
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