Off-grid solar for Rio Tinto's Weipa site

First Solar, Rio Tinto and Ingenero have reached an agreement for the development of the Weipa solar PV project in Queensland.

Weipa Solar Farm, a joint venture between First Solar and Ingenero, will have an initial capacity of 1.7 MW with the potential to expand by an additional 5 MW after the commissioning of the initial phase. The project will generate electricity for Rio Tinto Alcan’s (RTA) Weipa bauxite mine, processing facilities and township on the Western Cape York Peninsula.

The first phase of the project is expected to generate sufficient electricity to offset up to 20% of the daytime electricity demand, while reducing the diesel consumption for every MWh of electricity produced.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has announced that it is providing $3.5m towards the first stage of the project, to be followed by an allocation of up to $7.8m for the project’s second phase. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said off-grid communities and businesses have had little choice but to rely on diesel generators that are expensive to run and subject to volatile fuel prices. “Transporting fuel long distances for generators is dangerous and subject to variable weather conditions - it is a costly, unpredictable arrangement that doesn’t make good economic sense,” Frischknecht said.

“We expect the use of solar power will reduce Weipa’s annual diesel consumption and its carbon dioxide emissions by around 1600 tons,” said Rio Tinto Alcan General Manager Weipa Operations Gareth Manderson.

First Solar will offer a FuelSmart solution that is said to provide maximum fuel savings while maintaining system reliability. With completion scheduled for late 2014, First Solar will supply its advanced thin-film PV modules and other balance of system components, in addition to providing operation and maintenance services for the duration of the project.

RTA will purchase the electricity under a 15-year power purchase agreement. The project is one which all partners see as a step towards energy alternatives for remote mining operations.

Manderson noted that the hybrid diesel/PV solution will introduce to the site a reliable source of electricity, with low maintenance requirements. “For the Weipa bauxite mine, solar PV complements the existing base-load generation by providing electricity in times of peak demand and reducing the amount of diesel fuel used,” said Jack Curtis, First Solar’s VP of business development for Asia Pacific.