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

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

The solar and BESS are part of the Tropicana renewables expansion project which is converting a gas power station into 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.

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

“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 optimize input from the high-penetration renewable energy and storage technology and enable the system to run hydrocarbon-free for extended periods of time.

From pv magazine Australia.