Iberdrola to supply green energy to the BHP Olympic Dam mine project

Iberdrola will supply 100 percent renewable energy to BHP's Olympic Dam mine project, one of the world's largest underground deposits of copper, gold and uranium, in southern Australia, starting 2022 in an aim to reduce emissions from electrical consumption by 50 percent in the year 2025

The long-term purchase and sale agreement includes a specific PPA for the energy produced by Port Augusta,  which is Iberdrola's first hybrid wind-solar farm in the world and the largest in Australia, with 320 MW of installed power. 

“Iberdrola is building the farm, which will supply around half the electricity required for Olympic Dam, in South Australia. The contract also includes an innovative mechanism whereby BHP will purchase Large-Scale Generation Certificates (LGCs) for 100 percent of the energy purchased until 2025,” said the companies in a statement.

Iberdrola has fully installed the wind farm on its first hybrid wind-solar farm in the world: Port Augusta is in South Australia that consists of 50 wind turbines and 250,000 solar panels.

The renewable power plant is a mixture of 210 MW of wind power with 107 MW of photovoltaic generation. 

The companies said once the farm begins operation within the next few months it will supply enough clean energy to supply the equivalent of 180,000 Australian homes per year.