This article originally featured in the AFR’s special clean energy report on 1 September 2023 and was republished with the AFR’s permission.
Tailoring and bundling energy solutions to meet the unique needs of mining and resources companies with high energy needs will be critical to ensuring Australia transitions to a zero emissions future as quickly as possible.
APA Group, the Australian-listed developer of Australia’s largest off-grid solar farm at Mount Isa in remote north-west Queensland, recognises the need to accelerate the ramp up of renewable power as much as possible.
And as Australia’s renewable electricity capacity continues to grow, low-cost and lower emissions fuels like natural gas will be essential for delivering energy security when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
Ensuring gas is available to play this role will be particularly important for sectors such as mining, resources and manufacturing, which have significant energy requirements and are often located in some of the nation’s most remote communities, making energy generation and supply even more complex.
APA Group chief executive and managing director Adam Watson says the company’s Dugald River Solar Farm – an 88MW power plant where solar panels line an area 65 times the size of the Melbourne Cricket Ground’s playing surface – is an excellent example of a bundled, remote-grid energy solution.