Rio Tinto signs Australia’s biggest renewable power deal as it works to repower its Gladstone operations
21 February 2024 - 8:19AM
Business Wire
Rio Tinto has signed Australia’s largest renewable power
purchase agreement (PPA) to date to supply its Gladstone operations
in Queensland, agreeing to buy the majority of electricity from
Windlab’s planned 1.4GW Bungaban wind energy project.
The agreement, which follows the announcement last month of a
PPA for the Upper Calliope solar farm in Queensland, will make Rio
Tinto the biggest industrial buyer of renewable power in Australia
and is another major step in the work to repower the company’s
Gladstone production assets - Boyne aluminium smelter, Yarwun
alumina refinery and Queensland Alumina refinery.
Under the new PPA with Windlab, Rio Tinto will buy 80% of all
power generated from the Bungaban wind energy project over 25
years. The project, which is currently in early development, will
be built and operated by Windlab at a site in Queensland about 40
kilometres from the town of Wandoan, and 290 kilometres south-west
of Gladstone, subject to development and grid connection
approvals.
The remaining 20% of the project’s generated electricity will
supply Australia’s National Electricity Market, delivering clean
electricity to homes and businesses.
The PPA is the second renewable power deal signed for Rio
Tinto’s Gladstone operations, after the recent agreement signed
with European Energy to drive development of the 1.1GW Upper
Calliope solar farm.
Once developed, the combined 2.2GW of renewable PPAs with
Windlab and European Energy have the potential to lower carbon
emissions by about 5 million tonnes per year and could generate the
equivalent of 10% of Queensland’s current power demand.
The Bungaban PPA will bring more renewable power into one of
Australia’s most important industrial hubs and marks another step
towards Rio Tinto’s climate goal of halving its global Scope 1
& 2 carbon emissions this decade. If combined with more
renewable power and suitable firming, transmission, and industrial
policy, the Bungaban and Upper Calliope PPAs could also provide the
core of a solution to repower Rio Tinto’s three Gladstone
production assets.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob Stausholm said “This agreement
with Windlab builds on our momentum in our work to repower our
Gladstone operations and provide a sustainable future for heavy
industry in Central Queensland.
“The task remains challenging, but we have a pathway to provide
the competitive, firmed power our Gladstone plants need and we are
continuing to work hard with all stakeholders, including the
Queensland and Australian governments, on getting there.
“Competitive capacity, firming, and transmission, are critical
to developing a modern energy system that can ensure more
large-scale renewables development in Queensland and help guarantee
the future of Australian industry.”
Once approved, construction of the Bungaban project is targeted
to start in late 2025 and is expected to produce electricity by
2029, employ up to 600 people during construction and support up to
30 permanent jobs when operating.
Windlab CEO John Martin said “Securing this PPA is a major
milestone for the Bungaban project and a strong signal of the
project’s value from the market.
“Windlab is very proud to be partnering with Rio Tinto to
support the long-term sustainable future of Rio Tinto’s Gladstone
operations.
“This agreement highlights the importance of large-scale
renewable energy projects in shoring up Queensland’s powerhouse
traditional industries, particularly minerals and advanced
processing, which employ thousands of people in regional
communities across the state and have a key role to play in our
nation’s low-carbon future.
“Bungaban is a key transition opportunity that will create up to
600 new Queensland construction jobs and inject around $500 million
into the regional economy through local employment, supply and
contracting.
“The project can be responsibly developed, grid connected and
producing enough energy to power the equivalent of 740,000
Queensland homes by 2029, while eliminating about 4 million tonnes
of carbon from the state’s generation profile every year.”
Rio Tinto will continue to engage with potential partners to
assess other proposals to help competitively meet the energy needs
of its three production assets in the Gladstone region. These
assets require more than 1GW of reliable power to operate, which
equates to over 4GW of quality wind or solar power with firming.
Potential further electrification of plant processes could increase
their electricity demand in the future.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240220665071/en/
Please direct all enquiries to
media.enquiries@riotinto.com
Media Relations, United Kingdom Matthew
Klar M +44 7796 630 637 David Outhwaite M
+44 7787 597 493
Media Relations, Australia Matt Chambers
M +61 433 525 739 Jesse Riseborough M +61 436
653 412 Alyesha Anderson M +61 434 868 118
Michelle Lee M +61 458 609 322
Media Relations, Americas Simon Letendre
M +1 514 796 4973 Malika Cherry M +1 418 592
7293 Vanessa Damha M +1 514 715 2152
Investor Relations, United Kingdom Menno
Sanderse M +44 7825 195 178 David Ovington
M +44 7920 010 978 Laura Brooks M +44 7826 942
797
Investor Relations, Australia Tom Gallop
M +61 439 353 948 Amar Jambaa M +61 472 865
948
Rio Tinto plc 6 St James’s Square London SW1Y 4AD United
Kingdom T +44 20 7781 2000 Registered in England No.
719885
Rio Tinto Limited Level 43, 120 Collins Street Melbourne
3000 Australia T +61 3 9283 3333 Registered in Australia ABN
96 004 458 404
riotinto.com
Category: General
Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024