Alinta proposes Port Hedland solar farm to break domination of gas

Energy utility Alinta has submitted development plans for its proposed 90MW (ac) solar farm in Port Hedland, part of its plans to introduce more renewables and storage into a grid dominated by gas.

The 90MW solar farm, to be built close to its Port Hedland gas generator, and a proposed 60MW/120MWh big battery, is likely to be built in two stages – 40MW at first and then the rest.

The development application has been submitted to the Environmental Protection Authority in Western Australia, around the same time that it received planning approval for the battery installation, which will allow it to switch off spinning gas reserves and accommodate more solar.

Alinta also has long terms plans to build a wind farm of up to 600MW elsewhere in the Pilbara, but is waiting to see how the north west grid evolves, with the big mining companies having their own renewable generation plans in what are largely a series of private networks.

There are, however, plans to boost the links between the networks and create a new market, with Horizon Energy appointed as an independent operator.

The Port Hedland solar farm, meanwhile, will be located around 5kms south of the town, next to the Great Northern Highway, and will require 2kms of transmission line to the nearest switchyard.

It will have a 30-year life and involve around 220,000 solar modules, and will be the second big solar farm built in the region following the 60MW Chichester facility that is located on the Newman network supplying the Fortescue iron ore mines.

Alinta says in its application that its Port Hedland customers, who currently rely on expensive gas power, have adopted significant decarbonisation targets, which has prompted Alinta Energy to develop the solar farm as an alternative to existing thermal generation.

“In terms of renewable energy developments there are currently no other feasible alternatives to the proposal.

“Wind energy is not suitable in the Port Hedland area due to prevalence of cyclonic winds and the transmission network in the broader Pilbara region is not currently sufficient to export wind energy generated inland to customers at Port Hedland.

“Alinta Energy does not have access to land large enough to develop large scale solar except for at the current proposed site. The current proposal is the most feasible renewable energy development Alinta Energy has to action customers decarbonisation targets.”