The project will be developed by Juwi and it will be Australia’s largest off-the-grid solar power system, which is expected to begin operation next year.
The 10.6 MW solar PV System will include 34,080 solar panels and will cover 20 hectares of land close to the site of the current underground mine.
It will include a diesel power station that will provide base-load power to the mine which is expected to fulfil the power requirements of the processing plant and underground mine.
Apart from meeting the power requirement, the project is also expected to save up to 20% of diesel fuel used in the mine reduce CO2 emissions by over 12,000 tonnes a year.
juwi regional director Asia Pacific Amiram Roth-Deblon said: "The Sandfire project shows that it is economically viable to use solar power in combination with battery storage on a large scale.
"From a technical perspective, the project demonstrates that even a mine in the Australian outback can be safely and reliably supplied with solar power.
"The system has been designed to provide the majority of Sandfire’s daytime electricity through an innovative control system. This opens up completely new perspectives."
