Rio Tinto unveils USD-400m renewables plan to green Aussie mining ops

Rio Tinto Plc (LON:RIO, ASX:RIO) is planning to invest AUD 600 million (USD 401.7m/EUR 388.6m) in renewable power projects in Western Australia’s Pilbara region under a wider plan that will help it halve its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030.

The mining giant intends to construct two solar photovoltaic (PV) parks of 100 MW each and install a 200-MWh grid-connected battery storage facility to green its iron ore activities. The assets are due to be switched on by 2026, enabling the company to cut its Scope 1 and 2 emissions in Pilbara by 10%, based on 2021 levels.

Rio Tinto has already secured initial funding for one of the 100-MW solar farms and expects to kick off construction next year. To be equipped with around 225,000 PV panels, the plant will start generating electricity in 2025. Final capital approval on the project is expected in the second quarter of 2023.

The new investment is part of Rio Tinto’s commitment to pour roughly AUD 7.5 billion to slash its emissions by investing in transmission infrastructure and to fully decarbonise its Pilbara operations. The plan is underpinned by a goal to deploy 1 GW of renewable energy capacity in Pilbara.

“We expect to invest around AUD 3 billion to install renewable energy assets as well as transmission and storage upgrades in the Pilbara as part of our commitment to halve our emissions from the Pilbara by the end of this decade,” said Simon Trott, Rio Tinto Iron Ore’s CEO.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.670/EUR 0.648)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!