Rio Tinto has approved construction of a new 25-megawatt (MW) solar plant at its Kennecott copper operation in Utah, US, bringing the mine’s total solar capacity to 30MW.
The new solar plant will be located next to Kennecott’s existing plant, which was completed in 2023.
Together, the two solar plants will reduce Kennecott’s Scope 2 emissions by approximately six per cent, or 21,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, the equivalent of removing around 5000 gas-powered passenger cars from the road.
Bechtel Corporation will design and manage construction of the new plant, which is expected to be completed next year and create up to 100 jobs in its construction.
Kennecott, which already has one of the lowest carbon footprints of any copper producer in the US, has reduced its carbon footprint more than 80 per cent since 2018.
The major has achieved this through initiatives such as closing its coal-powered power plant, building a 5MW solar farm, transitioning its mining fleet to renewable diesel and using battery electric vehicles in underground mining.
Rio Tinto Kennecott managing director Nate Foster said these measures have led to an emissions reduction in the millions of tonnes.
“Expanding our solar farm is the latest step in our journey to reduce our carbon footprint,” he said.
“We’re demonstrating every day that sustainable practices and resource production can go hand-in-hand to benefit our company as well as our community.”
The 210-acre solar array will include more than 71,000 panels, which contain tellurium produced by Kennecott, a byproduct of mining and refining copper.
In 2022, Kennecott became one of only two US producers of this critical mineral. Both copper and tellurium are vital components of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels.
Rio Tinto has committed to reducing its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50 per cent by 2030, on the way to net-zero by 2050.
While 72 per cent of the electricity the company uses comes from renewable sources, its current focus is on replacing electricity generated from gas and coal with solutions like solar PV, wind and other renewable technologies.
Subscribe to Australian Mining and receive the latest news on product announcements, industry developments, commodities and more.