BHP to buy power for Olympic Dam mine from Neoen wind farm, part of South Australia's biggest renewables hub
BHP Olympic Dam mine in South Australia's north wanted to more substainably produce the state's high-quality copper that was in turn needed to build renewable technologies and infrastructure.
Image courtesy BHP
BHP signed a deal with Neoen energy company in 2022 for a power purchase agreement from a planned South Australian 203MW (megawatts) wind farm it hoped would supply half the electricity needed by its Olympic Dam mine, 560 kilometres north of Adelaide, by 2026.
BHP said the agreement was part of its aim for the copper, uranium, gold and silver mine Olympic Dam to record net zero emissions. Neoen intended constructing its Goyder South Stage 1b wind farm in its Goyder Renewables Zone near Burra in mid north South Australia, along with a large-scale battery energy storage system in Blyth.
Neoen company chairman and chief executive officer Xavier Barbaro said the first baseload power purchase agreement was significant step forward and serve as a template for future contracts in Australia and in the rest of the world. Neoen already owned two of the world’s largest lithium-ion batteries at Hornsdale Power Reserve (150 MW / 193.5 MWh) near Jamestown in South Australia, and the Victorian Big Battery (300 MW / 450 MWh) near Geelong, Victoria.
Goyder South Stage 1, comprising Goyder South 1a and 1b, was the first stage of Neoen’s flagship project known as Goyder Renewables Zone – a hybrid wind, solar and storage project in mid-north South Australia. Goyder South has development approval for a total of 1200 MW of wind generation, 600 MW of solar generation and 900 MW of battery storage capacity. This made it South Australia’s largest renewable project.
The power purchase agreement with Neon also supported BHP’s commitment to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2 from its operated assets) by at least 30% from adjusted 2020 financial year levels by 2030 financial year. BHP reported record profits with underlying earnings of $57 billion in 2022, boosted by higher copper prices and a strong finish to the financial year by the Olympic Dam mine.
BHP Olympic Dam asset president Jennifer Purdie said the world needed South Australia’s high-quality copper to build renewable technologies and infrastructure, and BHP was focused on producing that copper more sustainably: “This agreement will support BHP on its decarbonisation journey, and provide new firmed renewable energy and increased stability to the South Australian grid.”
BHP also announced that its South Australia workforce has grown to 10,300 local employees and contractors in the 2022 financial year, up from 7,700 in the previous year. BHP also owned Oak Dam copper, gold and uranium mine in South Australia’s north.
