Rio Tinto signs Australia’s biggest renewable power purchase deal

Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with specialist renewable energy firm Windlab, agreeing to buy 80% of the electricity from its planned 1.4-GW Bungaban wind energy project, the company announced Wednesday.

This PPA follows Rio Tinto’s agreement in January to buy all electricity from the 1.1-GW Upper Calliope Solar Farm project. Both PPAs span 25 years and are intended to power Rio Tinto’s operations in Gladstone, which comprise two alumina refineries and an aluminium smelter.

Construction of the renewable facilities is expected to begin in 2025. Together, they have the potential to reduce carbon emissions by about 5 million tonnes per year and supply the equivalent of 10% of Queensland’s current power demand.

The deal turns Rio Tinto into the biggest industrial buyer of renewable power in Australia. Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm commented, “competitive capacity, firming, and transmission, are critical to developing a modern energy system that can ensure more large-scale renewables development in Queensland.”