Perth-based contractor GenusPlus Group has secured contracts to construct transmission infrastructure as part of Fortescue’s ongoing Pilbara Energy Connect project, which aims to power the miner’s operations mostly with renewable energy by the end of the decade.
GenusPlus will construct a 220 kV single circuit overhead transmission line and the associated infrastructure required to transmit power from the existing power station at Fortescue’s Solomon mine to the Eliwana mine, about 140 kilometres away to the southwest.
The transmission project is part of Fortescue’s Pilbara Energy Connect program which aims to combine 150 MW of gas-fired generation, 150 MW of solar and grid-scale battery energy storage to power its operations.
The Solomon mine power plant is already backed by 42 MW of interconnected battery energy storage system while a 100 MW solar farm being built near Fortescue’s Iron Bridge mining operations, is nearing completion.
Image: Fortescue Metals Group
Fortescue is aiming to decarbonise its mining, port, rail, non-process infrastructure and mobile fleet in Western Australia by 2030. The company’s plan includes the deployment of 2 GW to 3 GW of solar and wind energy generation and battery storage with the renewable power generated to be transmitted via a dedicated network.
GenusPlus Managing Director David Riches said the new contracts are a sign of Fortescue’s confidence it the company’s ability to deliver after its involvement in earlier stages of the Pilbara Transmission Project.
“Fortescue’s award of further contracts is testament to the capability of our team, and welcome recognition that Genus has the capacity and expertise to support the continuing energy transition,” he said.
Under the contracts, GenusPlus will construct the pole civil foundations and install the transmission poles, conductor, optical ground wire and hardware. Work on the project has already begun and is expected to be completed by mid-2025.
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