Pacific Energy has signed an agreement with Gold Fields to design and construct a 35 MW solar farm for the St Ives gold mine, 80 km south of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields region.
The solar farm is a part of Gold Fields’ landmark A$296 million ($198 million) St Ives Renewables project, which also includes 42 MW of wind power. The system is expected to power the mine site using upwards of 70% renewable energy and will reduce the mine’s carbon emissions by about 50% by 2030.
The St Ives Renewables project is the first time Gold Fields has managed a renewables project in-house. The solar farm is the largest array Pacific Energy has ever been commissioned to deliver and will meet nearly half of the power system’s renewable energy target.
Pacific Energy’s Chief Executive, Jamie Cullen, said: “Gold Fields is taking firm steps to significantly reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030, and we’re committed to helping them achieve this. Our engineers have factored in scalability to the solar design so that Gold Fields could expand its solar contribution almost immediately if it needed to.
“Design and installation solar contracts like this one, which sit between gigawatt and residential scale systems, are particularly suited to Pacific Energy’s specialist renewable energy capabilities. They allow us to help our partners transition their energy mix using their existing systems, or, like this one, as a part of a larger, client-managed project.
“A key lesson we’ve learned over the years is that the design needs to be flexible and account for the rapid changes we’re seeing in the renewable energy transition.”
Gold Fields’ Principal Specialist – Project Director, Simon Schmid, said partnering with a local company delivered on the company’s local procurement commitments.
“We are thrilled to partner with Pacific Energy on the design and installation of the St Ives solar farm. Gold Fields is committed to local procurement where possible and we are proud to support Australian businesses.
“This marks a significant step forward in Gold Fields’ decarbonisation journey and another milestone in the delivery of our biggest renewables project to date in Australia as we invest in projects that reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.”
Cullen added: “Like Pacific Energy, Gold Fields is putting its words into action and setting a high bar for energy decarbonisation. We’re really pleased to partner with them on the project, and on their journey to net zero.”
Pacific Energy will commence civil work on the solar farm in November this year and expects it to be fully operational in 2026.