APA, which owns and operates a solar/gas/battery hybrid power solution for the Gruyere Gold Mine in Western Australia, has awarded the solar farm component of the project to Juwi Renewable Energy Pty Ltd (Juwi).
Juwi is the Brisbane-based subsidiary of German renewable energy specialist juwi AG, which has built more than 2,500 MW of wind projects and 3,100 megawatts of solar PV in over 25 countries since its founding in 1996. APA is a leading Australian energy infrastructure business.
In a two-phase plan, APA will first add a twelfth reciprocating gas-fired engine to the mine’s power station by mid-2021. In the second phase, Juwi will deliver the 13.6MWp solar farm while APA will install a backup 4.4MW/4.4MWh battery energy storage system.
It is hoped that the Gruyere microgrid will be commissioned in Q4 of 2021.
The hybrid solution will cut emissions by about 16,000 tCO2-e annually, relieve the constraints from gas-based generation, and allow for higher power availability in step with the mine’s growth. It will also help reduce the cost of power supply to the mine.
The Gruyere Gold mine is a 50:50 joint venture between Gold Road Resources Ltd and Gold Fields Limited. Juwi has already completed three hybrid projects in Australia and currently has four utility-scale hybrids under construction including Gruyere.
Image Source: Gold Road