Australia’s largest remote solar farm switched on to power outback Queensland mining industry

The country’s largest remote solar farm has officially launched in outback Queensland to power one of the richest mining regions in the world.

The 88-megawatt Dugald River Solar Farm, which generates enough power to support 90,000 homes, consists of 180,000 panels across 200 hectares in outback Queensland.

It will provide solar energy, firmed by gas from the APA Diamantina Power Station, to mining projects by MMG Limited, Mount Isa Mines, and New Century, which are all major resources companies in the North West Minerals Province.

The region is renowned globally for its high-quality critical mineral deposits such as copper, zinc, vanadium, and phosphate.

The solar farm’s owner APA Group said green energy projects were the key to developing Australia’s mining industry and supporting local companies to address global shortages of metals and minerals.

APA Group executive of operations Petrea Bradford said demand for renewable energy was surging in the mining industry as companies sought cheaper, reliable alternatives.

“The North West region has a huge renewable resource. Our strategy for being in the North West is to support our mining customers as they continue to look to decarbonise with renewable energy solutions,” she said.

Unlocking Australia’s green potential

The North West Minerals Province has an estimated worth of $500 billion, according to the Queensland government.

It holds some of the richest critical minerals deposits in the world including copper, zinc, silver, and vanadium — all metals crucial to the development of renewable technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, and batteries.

As established global mining deposits, such as the world’s largest copper mine Codelco in Chile, began to decline, investors were looking to countries like Australia to fill the gaps, said industry analyst of 30 years Professor Rick Valenta.

“This is an enormous opportunity for Australia to supply the rest of the world with safe and environmentally responsible metals, like vanadium and copper, that we will all need for a transition to renewable energy.

“Not only that, as countries are having to build more to accommodate rising populations, demand for these metals will surge.”

However, Resources Minister Scott Stewart said one of the biggest barriers to the development of Queensland’s rural mining industry was cheap, reliable energy.

“When I go and visit mines out in that area, they talk about this as one of their biggest inhibitors to expansion,” Mr Stewart said.

The issue prompted the Queensland government to purchase the CopperString 2.0 project in 2023.

A 1,100-kilometre overhead transmission line will connect the North West Minerals Province to the grid near Townsville with the aim of providing more reliable and efficient energy to the region’s businesses and residents.

“This will actually unlock the potential for new mines to come on, to get things moving because our critical minerals that lie in that North West Minerals Province are absolutely what we need to develop our renewable energy plan,” Mr Stewart said.

Construction was expected to begin in 2024 with CopperString 2.0 set to be completed in 2029, according to the Queensland government.

Ms Bradford said APA had invested in an entire commercial team responsible for investigating opportunities to supply renewable energy to mines in the region.

“More and more of our mining customers are looking for renewable energy infrastructure solutions which is an opportunity for us,” she said.