Two new 5.25 MW solar farms will be built on Gumatj and Rirratjingu country on the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory, as Rio Tinto works to secure a more sustainable power supply for the region beyond mining.

The solar farms will be built on Rio Tinto leases, following agreement with the Gumatj and Rirratjingu Traditional Owner Groups on the location of the facilities, and will help underpin a low-carbon future for the Gove community after mining operations cease, towards the end of the decade.

Aggreko will construct, own and operate the solar farms for Rio Tinto for up to ten years, beginning construction this month and with completion scheduled for early 2025. The two sites will have combined capacity of 10.5 MW.

 “The Gove solar project is part of our shared vision with Traditional Owners to leave a positive legacy for the Gove Peninsula communities after bauxite mining ceases,” says Rio Tinto Gove operations acting general manager Shannon Price.

“We’re excited to work with the Gumatj and Rirratjingu clans to provide an opportunity to secure alternative electricity generation assets on their country and to discuss opportunities to commercialise energy infrastructure in the future.

“We are working in partnership with the Northern Territory government and Traditional Owners to ensure a smooth transition of leased land and town assets and infrastructure as Rio Tinto prepares to stop mining at Gove later this decade.

“We are committed to our role in helping to plan for the region’s future, which includes providing options for reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable infrastructure,” adds Price.

The solar farms are also part of Rio Tinto’s ongoing commitment to decarbonise its business. Once operational, they are expected to reduce yearly CO₂ emissions at Gove operations by up to 17%.

When complete, the solar farms are expected to reduce the region’s yearly diesel consumption by about 20%, or 4.5-million litres a year, and lower yearly carbon emissions by over 12 000 t, which is the equivalent of taking 2 800 internal combustion engine cars off the road.

Rio Tinto’s Gove site in Australia’s Northern Territory has been supplying the global aluminium industry with bauxite for more than 40 years. Gove bauxite is shipped internationally as well as being used to supply the Queensland Alumina Limited and Yarwun refineries in Gladstone, Queensland. These refineries produce alumina as feedstock for Rio Tinto’s Australian aluminium smelting operations and for sale on the international market.

Bauxite mining operations in the Gove Peninsula are expected to end later this decade and work is already underway to support the closure of the operation and rehabilitation of the refinery, mine site and tailings facilities.