Rio Tinto plans $600M for renewable energy at Australia mines
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Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) said Tuesday it plans to spend an additional $600M to build two solar farms and battery storage in the Pilbara region, as part of its efforts to lower emissions from its Western Australia iron ore mining operations.
The miner said the investment will fund construction of two 100 MW solar power facilities and 200 MWh of on-grid battery storage in the Pilbara by 2026, in addition to the 34 MW of solar power installed at its recently commissioned Gudai-Darri iron ore mine.
Rio Tinto (RIO) said initial funding has been approved for its first standalone 100 MW solar photovoltaic system that will include installation of ~225K solar panels built to withstand the Pilbara's cyclonic conditions.
Construction is expected to start next year ahead of project commissioning in 2025.
"We expect to invest ~$3B to install renewable energy assets as well as transmission and storage upgrades in the Pilbara as part of our commitment to halve our emissions from the Pilbara by the end of this decade," CEO Simon Trott said.
China's property market and zero-COVID policy will remain headwinds to the recovery of iron ore prices, adding to downward pressure on Rio Tinto's (RIO) financial performance and stock valuations ahead, Juxtaposed Ideas writes in an analysis posted recently on Seeking Alpha.