Agnew leads the way in decarbonising Australian mining with wind and hybrid power

Global energy producer EDL has successfully completed the 56MW Agnew Hybrid Renewable Project for Gold Fields’ Agnew Gold Mine in remote Western Australia. All five wind turbines are now up and running and successfully integrated into Australia’s largest hybrid renewable microgrid, and the first in the country to power a mine with wind-generated electricity on a large scale. In favourable weather conditions, the project has delivered up to 70% of Agnew’s power requirements with renewable energy. The project comprises four key components controlled by an advanced microgrid system: • five 110m wind turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 140m, delivering 18MW • a 10,710-panel solar farm generating 4MW • a 13MW/4MWh battery system • off-grid 21MW gas/diesel engine power plant. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) provided $13.5 million in funding to the project as part of its Advancing Renewables Program. EDL Chief Executive Officer James Harman said the company was proud to partner with Gold Fields on the landmark project. “We applaud Gold Fields for their vision in embarking on this journey with us, and their role in leading the Australian mining industry’s transition to clean, reliable renewable energy. “We also acknowledge the incredible achievement of the EDL project delivery team and our contractors. We faced transport challenges during the bushfires and impacts on personnel from Covid-19 restrictions as well as geographical, logistics and technical challenges to safely construct this innovative energy facility in the remote WA Goldfields region.”