Rio Tinto has introduced the completion of a significant renewable power mission at its Diavik Diamond Mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories. The newly put in 3.5 megawatt solar energy plant marks the most important off-grid facility of its type in your complete territory of Canada.
Featuring 6,620 photo voltaic panels, the plant is anticipated to generate 4.2 million kilowatt-hours of photo voltaic power yearly. This initiative will cut back Diavik’s diesel consumption by a million liters per yr and reduce greenhouse gasoline emissions by 2,900 tons of CO2 equal, equal to eradicating 630 vehicles from the street per yr.
The solar energy plant will provide as much as 25% of Diavik’s electrical energy wants throughout shutdown operations, that are scheduled to finish in 2029 following the top of business manufacturing in 2026. Specifically, the power makes use of bi- facial panels that seize power from direct daylight and reflections from the snow that covers Diavik many of the yr.
This photo voltaic mission enhances the present Diavik wind energy plant, which has been working since 2012 and is acknowledged as the most important of its type in North Canada. To date, the wind set up has generated over 195 million kilowatt-hours of electrical energy.
Matthew Breen, Chief Operating Officer of Diavik Diamond Mine, commented, “The largest off-grid solar energy plant in Canada’s North underscores our dedication to environmental stewardship at Diavik. This mission improves our operational power effectivity and units a requirements for large-scale renewable power initiatives in Northern Canada.
The mission acquired C$3.3 million in funding from the Government of the Northwest Territories’ Large Emitters GHG Reducing Investment Grant Program. This assist is a part of the territory’s method to allocate funds from the federal carbon tax to emission discount initiatives.
Caroline Wawzonek, Northwest Territories’ Minister of Infrastructure, praised Rio Tinto’s management in emission discount and renewable power improvement. He highlighted the mission’s potential to drive additional improvement of the renewable power sector inside and past Northern Canada.
The development of the photo voltaic plant, which began in February 2024, was carried out by Solvest Inc. based mostly in Whitehorse, in partnership with the Indigenous-owned Tłıchǫ Investment Corporation. Approximately 30% of the development workforce is from the Tłıchǫ Investment Corporation, which promotes local people involvement and financial advantages.
Ben Power, CEO of Solvest Inc., mentioned, “Building on the success of Diavik’s wind farm, this solar energy plant represents a major step ahead within the integration of renewable power into Northern and off-grid operations in mining. We are proud to accomplice with Tłıchǫ Investment Corporation to ship the most important off-grid photo voltaic mission in Canada’s North, setting a precedent for future photo voltaic initiatives throughout the nation.
Looking forward, Rio Tinto is partaking with the Government of the Northwest Territories and native stakeholders to discover how its renewable power infrastructure can proceed to learn the area after mine closure.
The Diavik initiative is in step with Rio Tinto’s world decarbonization objectives, which goal to scale back Scope 1 and a pair of greenhouse gasoline emissions by 50% by 2030 and obtain internet zero emissions throughout its operations by 2050.
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