APA Group has officially opened a solar energy project designed to withstand sustained winds of almost 300 km/h, along with a co-located battery energy storage system in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
Australian gas and electricity company APA Group has revealed that construction of its solar farm and battery project at Port Hedland in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is now complete and commissioning is underway. Commercial operations are expected to start in January 2025.
The Port Hedland project includes a 45 MW solar farm linked to a 35 MW/36.7 MWh battery energy storage system. They are connected to APA’s existing Port Hedland gas-fired power station and to the North West Interconnected System (NWIS) network and will supply electricity to BHP’s iron ore port facilities.
Sydney-based APA said that given the project site’s proximity to the northwestern Australian coastline, the solar farm is designed to cope with severe cyclonic conditions and is capable of withstanding sustained winds of 288 km/h.
“While solar installation in the inland Pilbara is relatively easy, coastal solar deployment has stagnated due to the difficulty in designing renewable energy infrastructure that can withstand the extreme wind speeds associated with deal with cyclones, which are prevalent in the region. ,” the company said.
APA said the solar farm, built by Monford Group, includes 32,000 steel poles driven 2.2 meters into the ground, steel cross-sections up to 4mm thick, and 119,056 solar panels positioned at a 10-degree angle to reduce wind forces . . It says the structure is secured with 3.2 million bolts, with “the design and equipment rigorously calculated and tested to ensure it is cyclone resistant.”
The battery is able to respond to the unique variability of renewable energy in the Pilbara, and in particular cloud events, allowing solar energy output to drop from 100% to less than 20% in less than two minutes.
“This project demonstrates how solar, battery and gas generation can be combined to successfully transition remote mining operations,” said Adam Watson, CEO and Managing Director of APA.
BHP WA Iron Ore Asset President Tim Day said the solar farm is expected to meet the majority of the daytime energy needs of the miner’s massive port facilities in Port Hedland. The remaining power needs must be met via the existing gas-fired power station of BESS and APA.
“This power purchase agreement is a step forward on BHP’s global journey to decarbonisation, and it will also play an important role in the future of sustainable energy in the Pilbara,” he said. “From electrifying mining equipment and switching to renewable energy sources like this, to working with the shipping industry and steelmakers to help them reduce their emissions, it’s all about doing our part in the global effort to decarbonize the economy to make.”
Decarbonizing the energy-intensive and remote operations of Australia’s resources sector will be a major undertaking. Watson estimates that achieving this feat in the Pilbara alone will cost approximately AUD15 billion ($9.72 billion).
While recognizing the scope of the task ahead, Watson said the Port Hedland project demonstrates the ability to replace thermal generation with utility-scale solar generation, while maintaining cost competitiveness and security of supply in remote areas.
“It is a clear demonstration of our ability to support customers with reliable, affordable energy infrastructure with lower emissions,” he said.
The Port Hedland solar and battery project is the first project APA has since rolled out in Western Australia Purchase of AUD 1.7 billion of Alinta Energy’s assets in the Pilbara.
APA’s potential next projects include an expansion of the Port Hedland solar and battery project, and a 30 MW expansion at the Chichester Solar Farm. The company is also exploring building electricity transmission infrastructure to connect Port Hedland to the mines around Newman as part of a strategy to electrify the region.
This content is copyrighted and may not be reused. If you would like to collaborate with us and reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
Popular content
