Operations at BHP’s Olympic Dam in South Australia will be powered by the Goyder South wind farm and Blyth Battery project from 2025 under a new Neoen and BHP 70MW renewable energy baseload contract.
Olympic Dam has one of the world’s most significant deposits of copper, gold and uranium.
This baseload contract is the first of its kind for Neoen and is expected to meet half of the project’s electricity needs from July 2025.
Under the contract, Neoen will deliver a green energy solution 24/7 to the mine, along with the associated large-scale certificates (LGC).
To provide energy 24/7, Neoen will integrate output from its Goyder South Stage 1 wind farm and storage from its Blyth Battery, supported by its energy management expertise.
Neoen Australia’s Managing Director, Louis de Sambucy, said Neoen are delighted to provide BHP with this highly innovative solution.
“We are convinced that our ability to combine our assets and our energy management capabilities to create bespoke commercial offers will be a key element of success for our future developments,” Mr de Sambucy said.
Neoen will dedicate half of the output of Goyder South Stage 1 wind farm to this contract. Neoen will firm the intermittent wind energy, combining the storage capacity of Blyth Battery and its energy management expertise.
Goyder South Stage 1 is a 412MW wind farm currently under construction.
It is the first phase of Neoen’s flagship project known as the Goyder Renewables Zone, a hybrid wind, solar and storage project, located near Burra in South Australia’s Mid North region.
The exceptional wind resources of the area are making this project world-class in terms of both size and competitiveness.
Goyder South Stage 1, consisting of Goyder South 1a and 1b, is the first stage of Neoen’s flagship project known as Goyder Renewables Zone – a hybrid wind, solar and storage project located in mid-north South Australia.
The Goyder Renewables Zone leverages the exceptional wind and solar renewable resources of the area and will deliver a significant economic boost to the region.
Goyder South has development approval for a total of 1,200MW of wind generation, 600MW of solar generation and 900MW of battery storage capacity – making it South Australia’s largest renewable project.
The two parts of Stage 1 include:
- 209MW underpinned by two long term power purchase agreements with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Government and Flow Power
- 203MW underpinned by this new 70MW baseload contract with BHP
Blyth Battery is a utility scale battery project located in Blyth, South Australia. The project has been developed by Neoen over the last two years and received planning consent for up to 300MW in April 2022.
Neoen expects the construction and operation of this wind and battery project to create approximately 250 construction jobs and 15 permanent jobs in South Australia.
This new contract demonstrates Neoen’s ability to leverage, in an innovative way, its portfolio of renewable generation and storage assets to offer, for the first time, firm delivery of green power.
This latest agreement follows commitments BHP has made in recent years, which have seen renewable electricity contribute to powering BHP facilities in Western Australia, South Australia, Queensland and Chile.
BHP Olympic Dam Asset President, Jennifer Purdie, said South Australia’s high-quality copper is needed to build renewable technologies and infrastructure, and BHP is focused on producing that copper more sustainably.
“This agreement will support BHP on its decarbonisation journey, and provide new firmed renewable energy and increased stability to the South Australian grid,” Ms Purdie said.
This PPA continues the actions BHP is taking to contribute to its medium-term target to reduce operational greenhouse gas emissions (Scopes 1 and 2 from its operated assets) by at least 30 per cent from adjusted FY2020 levels by FY2030.
BHP’s Chief Commercial Officer, Vandita Pant, said BHP is consciously working towards its emissions target.
“Renewable energy partnerships, such as this agreement with Neoen, are important steps towards that outcome, and our longer-term 2050 net zero goal,” Ms Pant said.
Neoen’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Xavier Barbaro, said thanks to Neoen’s storage assets and deep expertise, it is now able to offer 24/7 energy to its customers.
“This first baseload PPA is a significant step forward for Neoen and will serve as a template for future contracts, opening up great market opportunities in Australia and in the rest of the world,” Mr Barbaro said.
