The new solar facility and the battery energy storage system will be built with an investment of an A$98m ($65.9m) and is expected to power the company’s Pilbara power network.
Rio Tinto Iron Ore CEO Chris Salisbury said: “The construction of our first solar plant in the Pilbara is a significant milestone for the business and an important step in reducing our carbon footprint in the region.
“We are investigating additional renewable energy options in the Pilbara, as well as other opportunities to reduce emissions across our entire global portfolio, building on the 43% reduction in absolute greenhouse gas emissions since 2008.”
Spread across 105ha of land, Rio Tinto’s first company-owned solar facility will have 100,000 panels.
The facility will be supported by 12MWh battery energy storage system in Tom Price.
The battery power storage facility is expected to offer spinning reserve generating capacity to support a stable and reliable network.
