Miners go for green

MINING and mineral-processing companies in the North West Minerals province have banded together to undertake what could be the largest industrial shift to renewable energy Australia has seen.

Five major industry players are looking to purchase 1 million megawatt hours of renewable electricity every year for a decade to power their Mount Isa and Cloncurry-based operations.

The move is expected to significantly drive economic growth, spur development and create jobs.

The initiative comes as companies, including Glencore, Incitec Pivot, MMG, New Century Resources and Chinova Resources, see a “real prospect” of connecting the North West Minerals Province to the national electricity market via Townsville through the Copperstring 2.0 transmission network project.

Copperstring, a $1.5 billion 1100km high-voltage electricity powerline, will connect the gas-dependent province to the electricity grid.

This will allow new and existing renewable energy projects a direct link to the major mining operations.

Copperstring founder John O’brien said asking the market to supply 1 million megawatt hours of unsubsidised renewable energy was expected to spur new projects or give confidence to existing projects, like Windlab’s Kennedy Energy Park, to realise their full plans.

“What you see with this market sounding process, perhaps Australia’s largest industrial decarbonisation initiative, is a glimpse of the opportunity that pragmatism and patient investment can deliver for Australia,” he said.

The scale of renewable power the North West Minerals Province companies are asking for is 75 per cent of what the State Government’s clean energy company Cleanco is meant to develop.

Mr O’brien said the State Government should make network transmission infrastructure its top priority.

The State Government has already committed a $150 million investment in transmission infrastructure in North Queensland to support renewable energy development.

“I believe if the Government is going to invest public money into building transmission lines to connect renewable generation, the priority should be to do it in a way that directly supports the minerals mining and processing supply chain that’s worth in excess of $2 billion a year to Townsville and the regional economy,” Mr O’brien said.

“Increasing renewable energy generation and supporting the mining industry is not a zero-sum game.”

The electricity consumption of the North West Minerals Province, at about 3 million megawatt hours a year, is higher than all the communities from Townsville north to the tip of Cape York combined.

Multinational accounting firm KPMG will undertake a registration of interest process on behalf of the major companies to identify options to purchase the power through long-term contracts.