Degrussa

The DeGrussa Solar Battery Diesel Hybrid project comprises 10.6 MWp of single axis tracking solar PV with 10 MW of AC capacity, 4 MW (6 MW peak) Li-Ion battery with 1.8 MWh capacity and a fully integrated hybrid microgrid control system to support the off-grid power supply for Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa Copper Gold Mine. The solar PV plant and battery storage system have been constructed on 20 ha of land near the site of the current underground mine and 1.5 Mtpa concentrator. The project was completed in mid-2016 and has been fully operational since reducing diesel consumption of the site by more than 20%. Karl Simich – Sandfire Resources NL CEO “The project has already attracted a significant amount of interest from within the mining industry in Australia with Sandfire receiving inquiries from several of our peers interested in adopting this technology at their mine sites,” “I would not be surprised to see more facilities like this built over the next few years as the benefits and potential of solar power become increasingly recognised across the resource sector,” Ivor Frischknecht – ARENA CEO “This is a clear example of renewables providing substantial, reliable results for one of Australia’s largest industries,” “The project has achieved a series of firsts. It’s the largest off-grid solar PV system in the world and one of the largest solar plants providing peak power load to a mining operation.”