Australia-based miner Rio Tinto has announced that it will purchase clean power generated by the 1.1-gigawatt Upper Calliope solar plant that will be built by European Energy Australia to power its Gladstone aluminum operations in Queensland for 25 years.
The construction of the Upper Calliope solar plant is planned to start in 2025 or 2026 and is expected to be completed within a period of two years. It will help Rio Tinto to reduce carbon emissions by 1.8 million mt per year.
Rio Tinto is also planning to invest in renewable energy assets in the Pilbara region as part of its efforts to decarbonize its Western Australian iron ore operations, as SteelOrbis reported previously. The investment will fund the construction of two 100MW solar power facilities as well as 200MWh of on-grid battery storage in the Pilbara region by 2026.
