Sanjeev Gupta's SIMEC ZEN Energy has launched a $1 billion, one-gigawatt dispatchable renewable energy program
It will comprise of many renewable energy projects, including co-generation at the Whyalla steel plant
The first project, Cultana Solar Farm, could power almost 100,000 homes
The 280-megawatt Cultana Solar Farm will begin construction in early 2019, employing 350 workers during construction and providing greater energy security to the Whyalla Liberty OneSteel steelworks.
Billionaire Sanjeev Gupta said the investment by his company, SIMEC ZEN Energy, formed part of his firm belief there was a great future for energy-intensive industries through a transition to more renewable energy.
"Solar will be the main base of our ambitions in Australia but we will have some wind and we have lots of storage solutions," Mr Gupta said.
"So together that gives us the ability to offer dispatchable baseload power at prices cheaper than other forms of power."
But the opening of the new solar project has included a warning — that Australia must continue to support the role that coal and other fossil fuels will play in an orderly transition to renewables.
He described renewable power as the "ultimate liberator" to energy-intensive industries like the Whyalla steelworks. PHOTO: The Whyalla steelworks will form part of a push towards renewables for energy-intensive industries. (ABC News: Nick Harmsen)
Enough to power almost 100,000 homes
The company said the 600 gigawatt hours of generation per year was enough to power 96,000 average homes, with its 780,000 solar panels spread across 11 square kilometres, an area 550 times larger than Adelaide Oval.
It would offset 492,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year.
A second solar project would be built nearby, with even larger projects to follow in other states, SIMEC ZEN said.
Last year Mr Gupta's parent company, GFG Alliance, announced a $700 million solar, battery and pumped hydro project would be used to power the steelworks.
It would include 200MW of solar, a 100MWh battery storage facility at Port Augusta, 120MW/600MWh pumped hydro storage in a disused mining pit in the Middleback Ranges, and 100MW of demand response at the steelworks and other industrial sites.
This initial capacity would be joined by a further 480MW of solar "in due course" to support industry expansion in the state, GFG said at the time. PHOTO: Mr Gupta has embarked on a "Green Metal" strategy to improve the competitiveness of his manufacturing companies. (ABC News: Dean Faulkner)
Fossil fuels play 'critical role'
Mr Gupta said the new projects would increase supply reliability and reduce the cost of electricity for operations owned by GFG Alliance, including the steelworks.
The British billionaire has been seen by many as Whyalla's saviour, after he purchased the financially burdened Arrium business in August last year for about $700 million, following years of downsizing and restructuring to keep the city's major employer open.
Since purchasing the steelworks, he has pushed forward with a "Green Metal" strategy to use renewable energy to improve manufacturing efficiencies and provide greater control over the entire process.
This has included buying a 50.1 per cent stake in ZEN Energy to secure energy supply.
"All of these projects will not only improve reliability and greatly reduce the cost of electricity in our own operations, they will also provide competitive sources of power for other industrial and commercial users, while at the same time playing a key role in the market's transition towards renewables," he said.
"We have a strong conviction that traditional carbon intensive generation sources do not have a long-term future as the predominant source of power in Australia and globally.
"We believe the world is undergoing a momentous transition to renewable power as the cost of renewables drops dramatically and quickly.
"It is, however, important that we acknowledge and also support the critical role that coal and other traditional fossil fuel-based power must play in this transition."
While generations to come would mostly use renewable energy, the transition to green energy would take time and needed to be done carefully, he said. Another Tesla battery announced
The announcement in Whyalla came as the Federal Government announced another Tesla lithium-ion battery would also be built in South Australia, with the 25-megawatt substation to be installed at the Lake Bonney Wind Farm.
The $38 million project would be partly funded with $5 million from the federal Australian Renewable Energy Agency and a $5 million grant from the South Australian Government.
The grid-scale battery would be built next to Infigen's existing 278.5-megawatt wind farm.
Like the Tesla 100MW battery, which began operation in Jamestown in November, the Lake Bonney substation will be designed to deliver flexible capacity and kick in at short notice to help the grid maintain stability and optimum frequency. Topics:business-economics-and-finance, environmentally-sustainable-business, environment, electricity-energy-and-utilities, industry,solar-energy, alternative-energy, sa, adelaide-5000, whyalla-5600
First posted 15 Aug 2018, 11:55am
SYA Price at posting:
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PHOTO: Billionaire Sanjeev Gupta has launched his company SIMEC ZEN Energy's first renewables project in Whyalla. (ABC News: Nick Harmsen)
PHOTO: The Whyalla steelworks will form part of a push towards renewables for energy-intensive industries. (ABC News: Nick Harmsen)
PHOTO: Mr Gupta has embarked on a "Green Metal" strategy to improve the competitiveness of his manufacturing companies. (ABC News: Dean Faulkner)
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