Aussie Sandfire’s 10.6-MW off-grid solar farm comes to life

Australian mineral explorer Sandfire Resources NL (ASX:SFR) said Wednesday the 10.6-MW off-grid solar park at its DeGrussa copper-gold mine has been successfully commissioned and is now officially in operation.

The 10.6-MW single-axis tracking solar system combined with a 6-MW battery was fully integrated with the existing 19-MW diesel-fired power station at the underground mine and processing plant, located in Western Australia.

In line with seasonal expectations, the facility is currently generating some 7 MW of power, but its output will ramp up during the summer months to the full functional capacity, according to the statement.

German renewable project developer Juwi AG was responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and will continue to provide operation and maintenance (O&M) for the photovoltaic (PV) system.

The funding for the AUD-40-million (USD 29.8m/EUR 26.2m) project was provided by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corp (CEFC) and project owner French independent power producer (IPP) Neoen.

Equipped with 34,080 PV panels, the solar plant is expected to generate enough electricity to reduce the mine’s diesel consumption significantly while offsetting over 12,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions annually.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.746/EUR 0.656)

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