Rio Tinto okays new solar farm and battery storage at Amrun bauxite operations

Staff Writer | December 4, 2023 | 1:22 pm Energy Top Companies Australia Bauxite

Rio Tinto’s Amrun project in Weipa. Image from Aggreko.

Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) has approved a new 12.4MW solar farm and 8.8MVa/2.1MWh of battery storage to provide renewable energy for the Amrun bauxite operations near Weipa in Queensland.

Aggreko has been contracted to build, own, and operate the solar farm to supply renewable electricity to the mine operations, in addition to its current contract to supply electricity generated from an existing diesel power station.

Rio Tinto said the project, which will supplement power currently supplied by Aggreko’s diesel generators, will help it reduce scope 2 emissions at its Weipa operations by up to 10%.

The solar farm and battery storage are expected to reduce Amrun’s diesel electricity consumption by 37% and annual CO2-equivalent emissions by 14,000 tonnes, and will add to the existing 5.6MW of solar and 4MWh of battery power built for Rio Tinto’s Weipa operations and the local electricity network since 2015.

“The construction of the Amrun solar farm and battery storage system, which is located on Wik and Wik-Waya Traditional lands, is an important milestone for Weipa operations and will contribute to Rio Tinto’s commitment to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions,” Rio Tinto Weipa operations general manager Shona Markham said in the statement.

“The Amrun solar farm will be one of three Weipa operations solar stations, which will together provide 18MW of solar generation capacity to our mines and the Weipa town. This project helps us make inroads towards our ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our operations.”

Early works have begun on the new solar farm, which is expected to be operational by early 2025. Once completed, the Amrun solar farm will provide about 21 gigawatt hours of renewable power annually, the miner said.

Combined with the existing Weipa renewable power generation network, the solar farms will reduce Weipa operations’ diesel consumption by an estimated 10 million litres per year and lower its annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 28,000 tonnes — the equivalent of taking more than 6,000 internal combustion engine passenger cars off the road.