Juwi Renewable Energy Pty Ltd signed an agreement with APA to construct the solar PV component of a medium penetration solar/gas/battery hybrid power solution for the Gruyere Gold Mine in Western Australia. APA owns and operates the Gruyere hybrid project, which delivers the mine site’s electricity needs. The solar farm is expected to be operational later this year.
Dave Manning, Director Global Hybrid at juwi said "We look forward to assisting APA and the mine owners, a 50:50 joint venture between Gold Road Resources Ltd and the global miner Gold Fields Limited, to help reduce the overall carbon intensity and cost of power supply to the Gruyere Gold Mine."
The benefits of the overall hybrid power solution at Gruyere Gold Mine include:
• Lower carbon intensity of power supply, reducing carbon emissions by an estimated 16,000 tCO2-e per annum;
• Ameliorating gas power generation capacity constraints, including the de-rating of gas engine performance at high ambient temperatures; and
• Enable increased plant throughput in line with Gruyere JV’s growth plans.
In the first phase of works, APA will expand the Gruyere Power Station with the installation of a twelfth reciprocating gas-fired engine. The expansion is expected to be commissioned in mid-2021. As part of the second phase, juwi Renewable Energy was contracted to deliver a 13MWp solar farm. APA will also back up the solar with a 4.4MW/4.4MWh battery energy storage system. The Gruyere Microgrid is expected to be commissioned in Q4 2021.
Juwi has already achieved remarkable success in the Australian market having completed three hybrid projects with a further four utility scale hybrid projects currently under construction including: Esperance (Horizon Power), Jacinth Ambrosia (Iluka Resources), Jabiru (NT Government) and now Gruyere.
A fifth hybrid project is currently under construction in South Africa. About 120 kilometres southeast of Johannesburg juwi is setting up a 10MW solar park for a gold mine.
