Installation has been completed of all 66,000 solar panels at one of the biggest renewable energy installations at a single mining project.
The $296 million St Ives Renewables Project, south of Kalgoorlie, will combine 42 megawatts (MW) of wind and 35 MW of solar to power upwards of 70 per cent of operations at the St Ives gold mine, owned and operated by South African miner Gold Fields.
It is part of a major push by miners to cut costs, and emissions by turning to wind, solar and battery storage.
Many of them are off-grid, including the Bellevue Gold mine has achieved renewable shares of 91 per cent over the last month, and the Kathleen Valley lithium mine has achieved renewable penetration of more than 81 per cent over the last year.
Pacific Energy said on its LinkedIn account that they expect to have the solar component fully operational next year.
“We’ve completed all civil works and mechanical installation at the site, and with electrical work nearing completion, we’re on track to begin commissioning in December,” the company said.
“This is Gold Fields’ first in-house managed renewables project, and we’re proud to be their partner in delivering the largest solar farm we’ve ever been commissioned to build.”
When operational, the solar component of St Ives will definitely be larger than another Pacific Energy project, the 61 MW hybrid power system at Tropicana gold mine in Western Australia which came online earlier this year and is currently Australia’s largest off-grid hybrid power system, which only boasts a 24 MW solar farm.
Completing the solar panel installation comes only two months after Gold Fields confirmed in early September that seven wind turbines destined for the St Ives Renewables Project had arrived at Geraldton Port ahead of a 1,000-kilometre road journey to their eventual destination at the mine.
The long-distance haulage convoys, which are being managed by RJA Engineered Transportation and got underway on Saturday, September 6, were expected to take “about two months”, according to Simon Schmid, principal specialise and project director for Gold Fields.
“We’re excited to have our turbines onshore in Western Australia, marking another significant step towards delivering this industry-leading renewable energy initiative,” said Schmid.
Note: This story has been updated to make clear the mine is not off-grid.
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Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.