Gruyere Microgrid

The Gruyere Gold Mine is a joint venture between Gold Road Resources and Gold Fields Australia located ~900km east of Perth in WA’s Yamarna gold belt. To support the development of this world class gold mine, APA constructed the key energy supply infrastructure consisting of the 198 km Yamarna Gas Pipeline (YGP) and the 45 MW Gruyere Power Station. The Yamarna Gas Pipeline connects the mine to APA’s west coast grid. Commissioned in 2018, the first stage of the Gruyere Power Station consists of 11 X 4.4 MW Jenbacher high efficiency reciprocating gas engines.

In 2022 APA completed a transforming of the power station to a hybrid renewable microgrid consisting of the existing power station, an additional gas engine, a 13MWp solar farm and a 4.4MW/4.4MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). The supply of reliable, low emissions energy is now managed by a fully integrated microgrid control system.

The Gruyere Microgrid leveraged the existing gas supply infrastructure to manage the variability associated with solar energy and ensure the reliable supply of electricity to the mine.

The Gruyere Microgrid will reduce the cost of energy and the associated emissions while increasing the energy supply to match increased gold production. The overall blended carbon intensity of power supply to the Gruyere Gold Mine is ~10% lower with the microgrid expansion, combining energy security with emissions reduction.

The Solar farm consists of 25,000 single axis tracking solar panels, together with medium voltage electrical infrastructure consisting of inverters, transformers and 11 kV switchgear. The land disturbance was minimised through the selection of high power solar panels (530w).

Project benefits include:

Rapid deployment
Proven technology
Secure reliable supply
Reduced emissions
Reduced costs
Fully commercial project (no government subsidies).