AER to build 3-MW wind, solar, storage facility in Western Australia

Western Australia-based Advanced Energy Resources (AER) on Friday said it will build a 3-MW wind and solar farm with battery storage for industrial garnet producer GMA Garnet.

The project will be located near Port Gregory, 60 km (37 miles) from Kalbarri in Western Australia's Mid West region.

AER has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with GMA Garnet for the AUD-8-million (USD 6.1m/EUR 5.4m) project, which will initially supply nearly 70% of the mine's electricity needs. AER will build, own and operate the installation.

The project will use Enercon wind turbines, which have already arrived in Perth. Project approvals are currently underway and commissioning is expected in early 2019, AER said.

Being located at the fringe of the grid, the mine does not benefit from very reliable power supply. GMA Garnet's chief financial officer, Grant Cox, said the wind and solar farm will allow the company to reduce its input costs and hedge against increasing electricity prices.

The project, announced at the Energy and Mines Australia Summit in Perth, will be the first grid-connected wind and solar farm with battery storage in Western Australia, AER said.

(AUD 1 = USD 0.766/EUR 0.672)

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