(Reuters) – Mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd said it had asked for proposals to develop wind and solar energy plants in Australia’s Queensland state to power three of its aluminium projects by 2030.
The plants are intended to power Rio’s assets – the Boyne smelter, Yanwun alumina refinery and Queensland alumina refinery – in the Gladstone region of Queensland.
The three projects need a combined 1,140 megawatts of reliable power, the Anglo-Australian miner said in a statement dated June 8.
“As Queensland’s largest energy user, we have an important role to play in driving the development of competitive renewable energy sources for our Gladstone assets and supporting the state’s renewable energy targets,” said Ivan Vella, Rio’s aluminium chief executive.
In October, Rio committed to increasing renewable power usage and said its decarbonising efforts will focus on aluminium operations. The division accounts for about 70% of Rio’s direct and indirect emissions.
Rio Tinto has committed to net zero emmissions by 2050.
The Queensland Alumina Refinery is partly owned by Russian miner Rusal, which recently filed a lawsuit against Rio, seeking to win back access to 20% share of alumina produced at the refiner.
(Reporting by Harshita Swaminathan; Editing by Maju Samuel)
