<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/faster-and-cheaper-fortescue-says-bespoke-green-grids-can-tap-into-data-centre-green-iron-demand/>
"Andrew Forrest’s iron ore and emerging green energy giant Fortescue says it is
confident that it can build bespoke green grids faster and at lower cost than
its competitors, as it continues to eye opportunities for data centres, green
ammonia and green steel.
The company is now well on its way to building the country’s first dedicated
multi-gigawatt scale green grid in the Pilbara that it says will involve no
fossil fuels as it powers its huge iron ore mines and the electric trucks and
mining equipment used in them.
It has recently started construction of the 690 megawatt (MW) Turner River
solar farm, taking its total solar capacity under construction to more than a
gigawatt – meaning it now has more solar under construction than any renewable
energy developer in the country.
It has also started work on its first wind farm, the 132 MW Nullagine project
that will feature the country’s tallest and most powerful turbines, mounted on
unique “self lifting” tower technology developed by the Spanish company
Nabrawind that it now owns.
Wind projects in other parts of Australia often have to wait months or more
than a year for turbine parts to be delivered, often at great expense and with
complex logistics and regulatory restrictions as they negotiate highways and
hilly terrain.
Fortescue is doing it at much greater speed. The first of the 7.8 MW Envision
turbines being used by Fortescue started arriving on site just a few weeks
after leaving their port in China. They arrived in Port Hedland and were
quickly transported by road to the Nullagine site in the Pilbara.
Fortescue plans around 1.4 GW of solar and up to nearly a gigawatt of wind, and
4.5 GWh of battery storage to power its Pilbara mining operations as it aims to
eliminate fossil fuels by the end of the decade, but it is also spending nearly
$1 billion on a bespoke system that can supply third party customers, including
data centres.
“We think we can build them faster and cheaper than anyone else,” CEO Dino
Otranto told analysts in a briefing on Friday to mark the latest quarterly
production report.
“That’s evidenced through decarbonisation investments that we’ve done. We see
that model being applied to jurisdictions that Gus (energy and growth chief Gus
Pichot) will lead around the world, whether or not the end customer is a data
centre or PPA-style agreement, or energy or a green metal mill, or an ammonia
plant.
“Again, all that hinges on getting that coast of green electrons down, and we
feel very confident that the Pilbara is a good start for that, where you’ve got
great sun, wind … we’ve got thousands of folks that we can deploy to expand our
buildout.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
