Juwi Renewable Energy has signed an agreement with energy infrastructure specialist APA to construct a 13 MW solar PV farm at the Gruyere mine site in Western Australia, where it will be integrated into the existing 49 MW gas-fired power station.
APA will also back up the solar and gas hybrid microgrid with a 4.4 MW/4.4 MWh battery energy storage system that will provide reliable electricity for the mine, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Gold Road Resources and global miner Gold Fields Ltd.
“We look forward to assisting APA and the mine owners … to help reduce the overall carbon intensity and cost of power supply to the Gruyere gold mine,” said Dave Manning, Juwi’s global hybrid director.
The solar farm is expected to be operational later this year. The hybrid facility is expected to reduce carbon emissions by an estimated 16,000 tons per annum.
The project is the latest in a string of deals juwi has announced in recent months, including plans to construct a solar farm as part of global energy producer Energy Developments Ltd.'s solar-diesel hybrid power station at Jabiru in Australia's Northern Territory.
Juwi said in February that it will build a 3.9 MW solar farm. The project will be coupled with a 3 MW/5 MWh battery and 4.5 MW diesel power plant to deliver at least 50% renewable energy to the township.
In March, Juwi said it would construct a 3.4 MW solar farm. It will be coupled with an existing 12 MW diesel-powered station at Iluka’s Jacinth-Ambrosia mine in South Australia.
The project developer has also signed a deal with Contract Power, a Pacific Energy subsidiary, to build a hybrid renewable energy project that will power the town of Esperance. The project will feature a 4 MW solar farm alongside two 4.5 MW wind turbines integrated with a lithium-ion battery system and gas generators.
The latest projects build on Juwi’s early successes, with three hybrid projects already completed. They included the DeGrussa project, a 10.6 MW solar array and a 6 MWh battery, integrated with existing diesel generation to supply Sandfire’s copper and gold mine site in Western Australia. The facility became fully operational in 2016 and at the time was the world’s largest diesel-solar hybrid system, and the largest off-grid PV system in Australia.
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