A referral for Whitehaven Coal’s proposed Narrabri solar project has appeared in the queue for assessment under the federal government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
Whitehaven plans to develop a 20 MW solar farm in the New South Wales (NSW) New England region, about 25 kilometres southeast of Narrabri.
The estimated $45 million (USD 29 million) Whitehaven Solar Farm would provide behind-the-meter electricity supply to the Narrabri mine which recently secured an extension to the life of its operations. The federal government’s decision extends operations at the underground coal mine from 2031 to 2044.
Whitehaven said in its scoping report that after that date it could look at offloading the solar farm which has a planned operational life of 50 years.
“As the Narrabri mine, which is currently permitted to operate to 2044, is expected to close prior to the expiration of the design life of the solar farm, Whitehaven will look at opportunities to divest the solar farm to third parties or decommission the project,” the company said, adding that another alternative includes reconditioning the PV plant with updated technology.
While no timeline for the project has been Narrabri project provided, Whitehaven said construction of the solar farm would commence as soon as practicable after all necessary consents, approvals and licenses have been obtained.
Whitehaven said the solar farm has been designed to approximately match the average electricity demand of the Narrabri mine during a “worst case” winter scenario.
Average electricity usage at the Narrabri mine is expected to be approximately 11 MW during 2024, while peak electricity usage at the facility is expected to occur in 2030 with average demand increasing to about 13.9 MW.
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