Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group has announced that it has delivered its first large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) to the North Star Junction solar farm, marking a major milestone in its drive to decarbonize operations in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The installation forms part of a sweeping strategy to replace fossil-fuel-based generation with renewable power supported by extensive battery storage.
The newly installed BESS is the first component of Fortescue’s planned 4-5 GWh of utility-scale storage capacity, which the company says will be essential to shifting its power system away from diesel and gas.
Supporting renewable integration
Built using China-based BYD Energy Storage’s blade battery technology, the system is engineered to capture surplus solar energy produced during the day and dispatch it through the night across Fortescue’s Pilbara Energy Connect (PEC) network.
The installation comprises 48 energy storage containers, offering 250 MWh of total storage with the ability to deliver 50 MW of power for up to five hours.
The second installation in Fortescue’s storage rollout will be a 120 MWh BESS at its Eliwana iron ore mine, scheduled for early 2026. Meanwhile, construction of the 190 MW Cloudbreak solar farm is nearly halfway complete.