- Enel Green Power has signed a 12-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with BHP for the supply of 100% of the output of Flat Rocks Wind Farm, totalling approximately 315 GWh per year of renewable energy and all Large-Scale Generation Certificates, (“LGCs”) from 2024.
- The energy will be generated in the 76 MW Flat Rocks Wind Farm Stage One, located in the shires of Kojonup and Broomehill-Tambellup, in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia.
- Enel Green Power is committed to minimising environmental impacts at every stage in the life cycle of its operational activities.
PVTIME – Enel Green Power, the renewable subsidiary of Enel Group, has signed a renewable Power Purchase Agreement with BHP for 100% of the output of its Flat Rocks Wind Farm Stage One, including energy and LGCs, supplying approximately 315 GWh per year of renewable electricity for 12 years.
The renewable energy provided by Enel Green Power under the agreement will further support BHP’s decarbonisation of its nickel operations and enable the supply of low carbon intensity nickel to its customers in the Electric Vehicles and battery storage markets.
BHP is committed to being a sustainable nickel producer and is the world’s leading nickel supplier to the battery metals market. Its operations include a smelter, refinery, and various open-cut and underground mines in Western Australia. The energy produced through the PPA arrangement is enough to power both the Kalgoorlie Nickel Smelter and Kambalda concentrator.
Under the PPA between BHP and Enel Green Power, the renewable energy allows and fuels the concept of green circularity through the entire value chain, enabling decarbonisation in a systemic way and making a concrete step towards the energy transition.
The energy provided through this PPA will be generated by the Flat Rocks Wind Farm Stage One, developed in conjunction with Western Australian developer Moonies Hill Energy, currently in pre-construction planning and due for operation in 2024. Flat Rocks has an investment value of over $200 million and will consist of 18 Vestas wind turbines, each ones of 4.2MW along with the related civil and electrical infrastructure. The approximate timeframe for the operational life of the project is 30 years.
The wind farm project site spans the shires of Kojonup and Broomehill-Tambellup, in the Great Southern Region of Western Australia and will bring approximately 120 construction jobs to the area.
“We are very proud to be strategic partner and enabler to support BHP’s commitment to decarbonization,” said Werther Esposito, Country Manager of Enel Green Power Australia. “With this deal, Enel Green Power is proving itself as a partner which can help Australian companies to achieve sustainable operations. As Enel Green Power’s first Australian windfarm and first project in Western Australia, this partnership fulfills all critical success factors for Enel’s Creating Shared Value approach, enabling Australia’s primary industries to continue in a sustainable way, contributing significant employment and supply opportunities for the local communities and creating a positive economic impact on the local areas.”
“BHP supplies high quality nickel to world markets for use in electric vehicle batteries and other growing technologies that support global decarbonisation,” said Jessica Farrell, BHP Nickel West Asset President. “We are delighted to partner with Enel Green Power as the first customer of the Flat Rocks Wind Farm, creating jobs and supporting the Kojonup community with the introduction of a renewable energy industry to the area.”
Enel Green Power remains committed to its Creating Shared Value (CSV) approach during the construction and operation of the project, working closely with the local community to enhance the economic and social conditions in the local area. The organisation is also dedicated to local sourcing throughout the project’s operational and construction phases.
