The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) is backing mining giant Fortescue with AUD 45 million ($29 million) in funding from the Advancing Renewables Program (ARP), to trial new technologies at a Pilbara solar innovation hub (PSIH).
Fortescue will operate the trial across its energy portfolio, including at the 190 MW Cloudbreak solar farm which is now over a third through construction.
Through the PSIH, Fortescue aims to accelerate large-scale solar deployment using automation, advanced materials and next-generation solar construction techniques, as well as reduce costs and improve safety.
The funding will support a technology trial with United States heavy equipment automation company Built Robotics to test autonomous piling systems that could transform how solar farms are constructed in remote environments.
Being delivered at the Cloudbreak solar farm, located 260 km east of Perth, robotic systems will install more than 1,200 solar piles to increase installation speed and reduce labor constraints.
Fortescue is also working with South Australian solar innovation company 5B to trial its prefabricated Maverick system to assess its performance in the Pilbara’s remote high-temperature environment and confirm its potential to deliver fast, cost-effective renewable energy installations.
Fortescue CEO Metals and Operations Dino Otranto said the lessons Fortescue learn at the PSIH will shape the company’s future solar pipeline.
ARENA Chief Executive Officer Darren Miller said the PSIH will help lower costs in line with its ultra low-cost solar vision, while enabling innovation.
“Solar PV deployment is evolving as we find new ways to reduce costs, streamline logistics and adapt to challenging environmental conditions,” Miller said. “These advances are helping to lower the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and improve commercial viability for the heavy industrial and hard to abate sectors
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