Neoen has consolidated its partnership with Tier 1 mining company BHP, with a second renewable energy baseload agreement signed between the two parties.
After an initial 70MW deal kicked off in July, Neoen and BHP have signed an additional 10-year agreement for the supply of 100MW of green energy to BHP’s Copper South Australia operations.
Energy supply will be derived from Neoen’s future Goyder North wind farm, with storage from the new Goyder battery, which holds a minimum capacity of 200MW/800 megawatt-hours (MWh).
The recently commenced 70MW agreement pairs Neoen’s Goyder South Stage 1 wind farm and Blyth battery, with the two deals amounting to 70 per cent of BHP’s South Australian renewable energy needs from 2030.
“This second agreement to supply power to BHP demonstrates Neoen’s end-to-end expertise in designing, delivering and deploying customised energy solutions that can meet the growing demands of customers and support the pace of Australia’s transition,” Neoen Australia chief executive officer Jean-Christophe Cheylus said.
BHP asset president – Copper South Australia Anna Wiley said its partnership with Neoen was critical to the major miner achieving decarbonisation.
“BHP’s Copper SA operations are taking another step forward in our decarbonisation journey with its third renewable power arrangement,” she said.
“We are using the size and scale of our copper operations to underpin significant new investment in renewable electricity in South Australia.”
The Goyder North wind farm is set to support 135 turbines, equivalent to about one gigawatt of wind generation, with the Goyder battery approved for 900MW/3600MWh of storage. These assets comprise Neoen’s flagship renewable energy hub near Burra in the mid-north region of South Australia.
Up to 550 construction jobs and about 20 permanent roles will be created from the agreement.
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