mining

George Heynes reports on the central role solar PV may play in Australia's emerging 'green metals' industry.

Australian mining giant Fortescue Metals Group announced today (16 April) that construction has started on a 190MW solar PV plant at its Cloudbreak site in Western Australia.

Pacific Energy has completed developing a 61MW solar-wind hybrid renewable energy project to power a gold mine in Western Australia.

Rio Tinto has inked deals with Edify Energy to secure power and BESS capacity to decarbonise its aluminium operations in Queensland.

Australia’s Mount Isa City Council in Queensland has released an economic roadmap detailing that the region has some of eastern Australia’s highest potential for co-located solar and wind, with a possible generation capacity of over 26GW.

Australian energy company APA Group has completed the construction of a 45MW solar-plus-storage project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Sonangol and Qinghai Lihao Clean Energy plan to build a polysilicon plant, which will produce PV modules made of quartz ore, in Angola.

BayWa r.e. has completed the construction of a 200MW solar project in Nevada, US, alongside a 54.1MW project in Lazio, Italy.

Australian think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) has signaled that the mineral-rich region of Pilbara, Western Australia, needs rapid investment in its transmission network to ensure renewable energy, such as solar, can help drive decarbonisation.

Australian Silica Quartz has started drilling at the Quartz Hill project which could provide the minerals for Quinbrook's polysilicon plant.