TransAlta building solar, battery storage project for BHP in Australia

TransAlta Corp. subsidiary TransAlta Energy (Australia) Pty Ltd. started construction of a solar and battery energy storage project in Australia to help power BHP Billiton Nickel West Pty Ltd.'s Mt. Keith and Leinster operations.

The planned Northern Goldfields project will comprise a 27.4-MW solar farm at Mt. Keith plus a 10.7-MW solar farm and a 10.1-MW battery at Leinster. It will be integrated into TransAlta's Northern Goldfields remote power grid, the company said in Feb. 1 news release.

The project will replace power supplied by diesel and gas and is projected to reduce BHP Nickel West's Scope 2 emissions at its Mt. Keith and Leinster operations by 12%, or a projected 54,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. The project is expected to produce its first solar power by November, the release said.

In addition, TransAlta entered an agreement with BHP to identify potential sites for a 40-MW to 50-MW wind farm that would connect to TransAlta's northern grid and reduce Scope 2 emissions at the two BHP Nickel West operations by another 30%. Scope 2 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions associated with the purchase of power.

BHP Billiton Nickel West is a unit of BHP Group Ltd.