Vale SA, a global coal, iron ore, nickel and other minerals mining company headquartered in Brazil, has announced a 766 MW solar power project betting big on solar energy to lower its electricity costs and also transition to 'carbon neutral mining'.
The 766 MW Sol do Cerrado Project will be set up in the form of 17 sub-parks in the Municipality of Jaiba complete with an elevator substation, transmission line and connection bay at 230 kV Jaiba substation. The $500 million project will enable it to bring down its annual electricity costs by around $70 million.
Vale says the proposed project is eligible for sustainable financing lines due to its location and scope since such financing lines are available to finance projects that bring socio-environmental benefits or companies that are committed to meeting ESG indicator targets.
Vale says the entire complex should be up and running by Q4/2022 and generate enough clean power annually that would correspond to 13% of the group's estimated demand in 2025. It is currently pending approval from the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL).
The project is part of the mining company's total $2 billion commitment to reduce its carbon emissions as it targets 100% self produced energy from renewable energy sources in Brazil by 2025 and 100% consumption of renewable electricity for its global operations by 2030.
Several mining companies are exploring solar PV power production to run their operations on as most of these mines are located in off-grid regions where they end up using expensive and polluting diesel. Earlier this year, British miner Anglo American Plc contracted Atlas Renewable Energy to supply it power from a 330 MW solar plant in Brazil with bifacial modules (see British Mining Group Secures Solar Power Contract In Brazil).
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