Notice to
ASX/LSE
Rio Tinto signs Australia's biggest
renewable power deal as it works to repower its Gladstone
operations
21 February 2024
Rio Tinto has signed Australia's
largest renewable power purchase agreement (PPA) to date to supply
its Gladstone operations in Queensland, agreeing to buy the
majority of electricity from Windlab's planned 1.4GW Bungaban wind
energy project.
The agreement, which follows
the
announcement last month of a PPA
for the Upper Calliope solar farm in Queensland, will make Rio
Tinto the biggest industrial buyer of renewable power in Australia
and is another major step in the work to repower the company's
Gladstone production assets - Boyne aluminium smelter, Yarwun
alumina refinery and Queensland Alumina
refinery.
Under the new PPA with Windlab, Rio
Tinto will buy 80% of all power generated from the Bungaban wind
energy project over 25 years. The project, which is currently in
early development, will be built and operated by Windlab at a site
in Queensland about 40 kilometres from the town of Wandoan, and 290
kilometres south-west of Gladstone, subject to development and grid
connection approvals.
The remaining 20% of the project's
generated electricity will supply Australia's National Electricity
Market, delivering clean electricity to homes and
businesses.
The PPA is the second renewable
power deal signed for Rio Tinto's Gladstone operations, after the
recent agreement signed with European Energy to drive development
of the 1.1GW Upper Calliope solar farm.
Once developed, the combined 2.2GW
of renewable PPAs with Windlab and European Energy have the
potential to lower carbon emissions by about 5 million tonnes per
year and could generate the equivalent of 10% of Queensland's
current power demand.
The Bungaban PPA will bring more
renewable power into one of Australia's most important industrial
hubs and marks another step towards Rio Tinto's climate goal of
halving its global Scope 1 & 2 carbon emissions this decade. If
combined with more renewable power and suitable firming,
transmission, and industrial policy, the Bungaban and Upper
Calliope PPAs could also provide the core of a solution to repower
Rio Tinto's three Gladstone production assets.
Rio Tinto Chief Executive Jakob
Stausholm said "This agreement with Windlab builds on our momentum
in our work to repower our Gladstone operations and provide a
sustainable future for heavy industry in Central
Queensland.
"The task remains challenging, but
we have a pathway to provide the competitive, firmed power our
Gladstone plants need and we are continuing to work hard with all
stakeholders, including the Queensland and Australian governments,
on getting there.
"Competitive capacity, firming, and
transmission, are critical to developing a modern energy system
that can ensure more large-scale renewables development in
Queensland and help guarantee the future of Australian
industry."
Once approved, construction of the
Bungaban project is targeted to start in late 2025 and is expected
to produce electricity by 2029, employ up to 600 people during
construction and support up to 30 permanent jobs when
operating.
Windlab CEO John Martin said
"Securing this PPA is a major milestone for the Bungaban project
and a strong signal of the project's value from the
market.
"Windlab is very proud to be
partnering with Rio Tinto to support the long-term sustainable
future of Rio Tinto's Gladstone operations.
"This agreement highlights the
importance of large-scale renewable energy projects in shoring up
Queensland's powerhouse traditional industries, particularly
minerals and advanced processing, which employ thousands of people
in regional communities across the state and have a key role to
play in our nation's low-carbon future.
"Bungaban is
a key transition opportunity that will create up to 600 new
Queensland construction jobs and inject around $500 million into
the regional economy through local employment, supply and
contracting.
"The project can be responsibly
developed, grid connected and producing enough energy to power the
equivalent of 740,000 Queensland homes by 2029, while eliminating
about 4 million tonnes of carbon from the state's generation
profile every year."
Rio Tinto will continue to engage
with potential partners to assess other proposals to help
competitively meet the energy needs of its three production assets
in the Gladstone region. These assets require more than 1GW of
reliable power to operate, which equates to over 4GW of quality
wind or solar power with firming. Potential further electrification
of plant processes could increase their electricity demand in the
future.
Contacts
Please direct all enquiries to media.enquiries@riotinto.com
Media Relations,
United Kingdom
Matthew
Klar
M
+44 7796 630 637
David
Outhwaite
M
+44 7787 597 493
|
Media Relations,
Australia
Matt
Chambers
M
+61 433 525 739
Jesse
Riseborough
M
+61 436 653 412
Alyesha Anderson
M +61 434 868 118
Michelle Lee
M +61 458 609 322
|
Media Relations,
Americas
Simon
Letendre
M
+1 514 796 4973
Malika
Cherry
M
+1 418 592 7293
Vanessa
Damha
M
+1 514 715 2152
|
Investor Relations,
United Kingdom
Menno
Sanderse
M
+44 7825 195 178
David
Ovington
M
+44 7920 010 978
Laura Brooks
M +44 7826
942 797
|
Investor Relations,
Australia
Tom
Gallop
M
+61 439 353 948
Amar
Jambaa
M
+61 472 865 948
|
|
Rio Tinto plc
6 St James's Square
London SW1Y 4AD
United Kingdom
T
+44 20 7781 2000
Registered in England
No. 719885
|
Rio Tinto Limited
Level 43, 120 Collins Street
Melbourne 3000
Australia
T
+61 3 9283 3333
Registered in Australia
ABN 96 004 458 404
|
|
This announcement is authorised for release to
the market by Andy Hodges, Rio Tinto's Group Company
Secretary.
riotinto.com