AUD 600 million investment in Rio Tinto to decarbonize iron ore operations in Western Australia

The world’s second largest metals and mining corporation, Rio Tinto, is investing over half a billion Australian dollars in decarbonization.

Initial funding for Rio’s first major standalone solar farm on the Pilbara coast – a 100 MW solar photovoltaic system and associated transmission infrastructure – has been approved. Construction, which will involve the installation of approximately 225,000 solar panels built to withstand the Pilbara’s cyclonic conditions, is expected to start next year ahead of project commissioning in 2025.

Potential sustainability impact

“The Pilbara is extremely well-positioned to take advantage of renewable power with land, access to people, and abundant wind and solar resources. Our Pilbara electricity grid is the largest privately owned grid in Australia, ensuring that we have the initial infrastructure required to enable a transition to renewable energy,” Rio Tinto’s Chief Executive Iron Ore Simon Trott said. “We expect to invest around AUD 3 billion to install renewable energy assets as well as transmission and storage upgrade in the Pilbara as part of our commitment to halve our emissions from the Pilbara by the end of this decade.”

The new green energy projects combined are expected to abate around 300,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide from Rio’s iron ore business in the Pilbara, equivalent to a 10% reduction in total scope 1 and 2 emissions based on 2021 levels. It will also reduce gas costs by approximately AUD 55 million a year at current prices by displacing around 30% of the company’s current gas consumption in the Pilbara.