Tag has signed a contract with First Solar to build the solar power plant for Rio Tinto’s Weipa bauxite mine in Queensland.
The win has been labelled a significant move by Tag, as it seeks to expand its large scale solar development activities, adding that “the Weipa project demonstrates its capability to integrate renewable energy into remote off-grid power stations.
“By picking up this construction role we have cemented an important first step in the delivery of large-scale solar power projects for the mining sector,” Tag’s CEO Nathan Wise said.
The project involves the construction of a 1.7MW solar farm at a cost of $4 million, and will provide around 20 per cent of the site’s daytime power needs.
A second stage, worth $17 million, is also planned, by not included in this project.
The solar project is the first of its size in Australia for a remote mining site.
Construction is slated to start immediately and is scheduled for completion early next year.