24 MW solar farm and 13 MW BESS powers up Western Australia gold mine

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Remote energy development specialist Pacific Energy has commissioned a 24 MW solar farm, which is producing power, and a four-unit, 13 MW battery energy storage system (BESS) at the Tropicana gold mine power station, Western Australia (WA) jointly owned by Australian resources companies AngloGold Ashanti Australia and Regis Resources Ltd’s.

The solar and BESS are part of the Tropicana renewables expansion project, which is converting existing gas power station an off-grid hybrid system with the final phase of the project involving the installation and commissioning of four 6 MW wind turbines.

The renewables integration is expected to reduce Tropicana’s diesel and gas consumption for power generation by 96% and 50% respectively.

The Tropicana renewables expansion project includes a 13 MW BESS.

Image: Pacific Energy

AngloGold Ashanti Energy and Decarbonisation spokesperson Vicky Scobie said over the course of its life, the renewable energy project at Tropicana is set to deliver a reduction of around 65,000 tonnes of carbon per annum.

“AngloGold is committed to net zero by 2050 and as part of that we have a roadmap towards net zero and that includes reducing our emissions by 30% from our 2021 baseline by 2030 and renewables are a significant step to actually achieving that 30% reduction,” Scobie said.

The integrated power facility’s intelligent control system, developed in-house by Pacific Energy, will optimise input from the high penetration renewable energy and storage technologies and allow the system to run hydrocarbons-free for extended periods of time.

Pacific Energy manufactures all its PCUs and BESS units in-house at its Perth facility at Kewdale.

Image: Pacific Energy

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