Solar panels to reduce emissions at BHP Nickel West

(Posted on 25/07/22)

The first solar panels have started being installed this week at BHP’s massive solar farm at Leinster Nickel Operation in the Northern Goldfields.

By the end of 2022, over 20,000 solar panels will be installed at this site alone, helping to power BHP Nickel West’s mining and concentrating operations at Leinster. At Mt Keith Operation there are even more - with over 51,000 solar panels going in.

The Northern Goldfields Solar Project, to be constructed and owned by one of BHP Nickel West’s renewable energy partners TransAlta, includes a 27.4 MW solar farm at Mt Keith Nickel Operation and a 10.7 MW solar farm and 10.1 MW battery at Leinster Nickel Operation, which will be integrated into TransAlta’s Northern Goldfields remote power grid.

The project, which will replace power currently supplied by diesel and gas, will help BHP Nickel West reduce Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions at its Mt Keith and Leinster operations by 12 per cent resulting in an estimated reduction of 54,000 tonnes CO2-e per annum.

The construction phase of the solar project has created more than 100 direct and indirect jobs in the Goldfields and Perth regions and is expected to produce its first solar power by the end of 2022.

BHP Nickel West Asset President Jessica Farrell said BHP was meeting its commitment to deliver sustainable low carbon nickel to its customers, a product that is in high demand to power batteries and electric vehicles.

“The Northern Goldfields Solar Project is BHP’s first off-grid large-scale renewable energy project across our global operations and, significantly, will remove the equivalent of up to 23,000 combustion engine cars [2] from the road every year, supporting our greenhouse gas reduction targets,” Ms Farrell said.

TransAlta is also working with BHP Nickel West to identify potential wind sites for a 40 to 50MW wind farm, which would connect to TransAlta’s northern grid and reduce Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions at BHP’s Mt Keith and Leinster operations.  

Adding wind will increase renewable energy supply to support BHP’s growth and further each company’s sustainability goals. 

Latest News

SSAB invests $74 Million to expand steel production in Alabama

Highly-specialised global steel company, SSAB has announced a significant investment of approximately... Read more

GGC welcomes new Canadian government and urges farm priorities action

Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) has welcomed Prime Minister Mark Carney and all Members of Parliament... Read more

US Soybean growers disappointed in 2;4-D Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties vote

The International Trade Commission in the USA has voted in favour of imposing final anti-dumping (AD... Read more

Ukraine already sown two million hectares of spring grains

As of April 25, 2025, farmers in all regions of Ukraine have sown 2M hectares (ha) of spring grain and... Read more

Condobolin rail upgrade fast-tracks NSW grain

GrainCorp’s rail site at Condobolin, in the heart of central west New South Wales, Australia,... Read more

Rio Tinto and AMG assess low-carbon aluminium project in India

Rio Tinto and AMG Metals & Materials (AMG M&M), an energy transition solutions provider, have... Read more

BHP record iron ore and copper production demonstrates resilience

BHP has released its Operational Review for the nine months ended 31 March 2025.BHP Chief Executive... Read more

WTO: Trump’s tariffs will shrink global trade

The volume of world merchandise trade is expected to decline by 0.2% in 2025 under current conditions... Read more

$235million syndicated loan agreement to boost UAE trade with Trafigura

In a strategic move to empower UAE exporters and advance the nation’s economic diversification... Read more

Anglo American update on sale of steelmaking coal business to Peabody

Anglo American plc has noted the recent statement issued by Peabody Energy in relation to the definitive... Read more