Aggreko is set to expand the solar farm and battery energy storage system, or BESS, at Gold Field’s Granny Smith mine in Western Australia.
The expansion is a continuation of a decarbonisation initiative that began almost eight years ago with Aggreko replacing the existing diesel power station at the mine with a high-speed, gas-fuelled reciprocating engine station.
Once fully expanded, Granny Smith will have a total of 19MW of solar capacity.
“Aggreko’s focus is on efficiency and reliability in line with the power demand over the life of the mine, as well as contributing to the decarbonisation of the region,” Aggreko APAC managing director George Whyte said.
The solar farm expansion at Granny Smith comes as Gold Fields readies to conduct a pre-feasibility study, investigating how it could go on to generate 75 per cent of Granny Smith’s energy requirements from renewable sources.
“The expanded hybrid power station not only makes our operation more cost efficient and improves energy reliability, but it also demonstrates our commitment to accelerate renewable usage across all Gold Fields sites,” Granny Smith general manager Mark Glazebrook said.
“This is a great step forward in Granny Smith’s decarbonisation journey as we seek to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and deliver on our ESG (environmental, social and governance) commitments”.
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