MINE POWER
station at Lynas ’ Mt Weld mine in Western Australia . Construction for the plant actually began in 2023 under Preliminary and Early Works Agreements .
The Mt Weld hybrid power station will include a 24 MW wind farm made up of four 6 MW Goldwind turbines , a 7 MW solar PV farm and a 12 MW / 12 MWh battery energy storage system ( BESS ). This renewable facility will be supported by a 17 MW high efficiency gas fired power station , with 5 MW of standby diesel generation , Zenith explained . It will also feature two 5 MVar synchronous condensers . The total installed capacity of the Mt Weld Power Station upon completion will be approximately 65 MW .
The term of the PPA is 15 years , commencing from commercial operation of the wind farm , which is scheduled to occur in 2026 . The diesel and gas facilities are scheduled to be completed in the first half of 2025 , with solar and BESS to come online in the September quarter of that year . This will be followed by the wind farm in the March quarter of 2026 .
The Mt Weld hybrid power station has been designed to run “ engine-off ” during periods of high renewable energy production and achieve an average annual renewable energy percentage of up to approximately 70 %, as mentioned .
Zenith calls itself a leading independent power provider at the forefront of the transition to renewable energy in the mining sector . It is
currently contracted to operate 15 separate remote generation power facilities , with a capacity of more than 650 MW across Western Australia and the Northern Territory .
Zenith CEO and Managing Director , Hamish Moffat , said : “ The signing of the Mt Weld hybrid power station PPA represents a significant milestone for Zenith Energy , with our contracted wind capacity now exceeding 100 MW .”
Lynas CEO and Managing Director , Amanda Lacaze , added : “ Moving away from the legacy diesel power plant to a gas-firmed hybrid renewable power station is a significant step in our GHG emissions reduction plan . Pleasingly , our commitment to renewable energy sources also offers a lower unit cost of power compared to a thermal-only power solution .”
Lynas plans to decommission the existing diesel plant once the gas plant is operational .
Still in Western Australia , Pacific Energy has signed an agreement with Gold Fields to design and construct a 35 MW solar farm for the St Ives gold mine , 80 km south of Kalgoorlie .
The solar farm is part of Gold Fields ’ landmark A $ 296 million ($ 198 million ) St Ives Renewables project , which also includes 42 MW of wind power . The system is expected to power the mine site using upwards of 70 % renewable energy and will reduce the mine ’ s carbon emissions by about 50 % by 2030 .
The St Ives Renewables project is the first time
Gold Fields has managed a renewables project in-house , while the solar farm is the largest array Pacific Energy has ever been commissioned to deliver .
Pacific Energy ’ s Chief Executive , Jamie Cullen , said the company ’ s engineers have factored in scalability to the solar design so Gold Fields could expand its solar contribution almost immediately if it needed to .
“ Design and installation solar contracts like this one , which sit between gigawatt and residential scale systems , are particularly suited to Pacific Energy ’ s specialist renewable energy capabilities ,” he added . “ They allow us to help our partners transition their energy mix using their existing systems , or , like this one , as a part of a larger , client-managed project .
“ A key lesson we ’ ve learned over the years is that the design needs to be flexible and account for the rapid changes we ’ re seeing in the renewable energy transition .”
Gold Fields ’ Principal Specialist – Project Director , Simon Schmid , said : “ This marks a significant step forward in Gold Fields ’ decarbonisation journey and another milestone in the delivery of our biggest renewables project to date in Australia as we invest in projects that reduce our greenhouse gas emissions .”
Pacific Energy has commenced civil work on the solar farm and expects it to be fully operational in 2026 . IM
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