Australia’s biggest “remote grid” solar farm officially opened in Mount Isa

The 88 MW Dugald River solar farm, described as the largest solar facility on a remote grid in Australia, has been officially opened by APA Group.

The Dugald River solar farm overtakes the 60 MW Chichester solar facility powering Fortescue Metals iron ore mines in the Pilbara as the largest solar farm not located on either of the country’s two main grids, the National Electricity Market, or the South-West Interconnected System in Western Australia.

It will soon be overtaken by bigger solar facilities – including a 100 MW solar farm being built by Fortescue at another of its huge iron ore mines in the Pilbara, but it is a significant asset nonetheless.

The history of the power supply in Mount Isa, which itself a famous mining town in north-west Queensland, is a chequered one.

More than a decade ago the state government, under pressure from the mine’s owners Glencore, approved a new gas fired generator rather than renewables and a new transmission line linking to the main grid.

That didn’t turn out well. Gas generation has become hugely expensive, prompting Glencore to threaten to close down the mine in 2017 because of soaring energy costs. It prompted the decision in 2021, to build a first, 44 MW stage of the Dugald River solar farm, then known as Mica Creek, and then doubling its capacity to what it is now.

And, for good measure, the state government is now supporting the new transmission link to Townsville, now called Copperstring 2.0, that will unlock even more renewable energy resources and mining resources that will now be able to access cheaper power.

Output from the Dugald River solar farm is supporting MMG, Mount Isa Mines and New Century, and is firmed by gas from the nearby Diamantina power station.

“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,” APA’s head of operations Petrea Bedford said in a statement issued after the formal opening earlier this week.

“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.”

APA recently bought the Pilbara Energy assets from Alinta Energy, which includes the Mt Newman battery, gas station and local network, and it is building a 45 MW solar farm at Port Hedland next to a 35 MW, 37.6 MWh battery.

APA has potentially $3 billion of wind, solar, storage and network investments in the Pilbara, helping the region’s big miners move on from fossil fuels, both as an electricity supply and also a transport fuel.