The Dugald River Solar Farm (DRSF) is now open in the Mount Isa region, with APA Group’s 88MW project officially becoming the largest remote grid solar farm in Australia.
The farm is supporting MMG, Mount Isa Mines and New Century with solar energy firmed by gas from APA’s nearby Diamantina Power Station.
The solar farm also supports APA’s goal to reduce the operational emissions intensity of its power generation infrastructure and demonstrates the company’s existing capabilities in delivering remote grid hybrid energy solutions.
APA Group Executive, Operations, Petrea Bradford, said that the new infrastructure both demonstrates APA’s commitment to Mount Isa and provides a model for the Australian resources sector to decarbonise.
“APA has invested more than $1 billion in energy assets in the North West Minerals Province and we are proud of our role in the local community as we continue to work to deliver safe, reliable and affordable energy to the region,” Ms Bradford said.
“Dugald River Solar Farm is Australia’s largest remote-grid solar farm by megawatt capacity and its 184,000 panels cover an area 65 times the size of the Gabba playing surface in Brisbane.
“It is also a great example of how we are executing our strategy to support customers in the resources sector to decarbonise, which will be essential if we are to reach our net zero targets.
“The substantial new infrastructure required to achieve these emissions ambitions presents a significant growth opportunity for APA and our integrated assets in Mount Isa are a great example of our capabilities as we continue to execute this strategy in broader regions across Australia.”
Featured image: The Dugald River Solar Farm. Image credit: APA Group.
