Sandfire commissions solar PV/diesel hybrid

Sandfire copper and gold mine in WA has
fully commissioned one of the largest
off-grid solar PV systems in the world
 to reduce diesel use and emissions.

One of the world's largest off-grid Solar PV projects has been successfully commissioned at a copper and gold mine in Western Australia.

The diesel-hybrid system is providing seven megawatts of power. That will ramp up to 10 MW at full-functioning capacity during the summer months.

The solar array has been installed at the DeGrussa Mine, owned and operated by WA company Sandfire Resources.

The $40 million project incorporates more than 400 lithium-ion batteries, each comparable in size to a desktop computer.

There are 34,080 solar panels across an area of 20 hectares that will provide 15 per cent of the mine site power needs.

Read the ABC Rural story - “One of the world's largest Solar PV-diesel hybrid power systems fully operational in outback WA mine.”