Fortescue has started construction on a 690-megawatt solar farm and a 650-megawatt-hour battery system in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, marking the final solar milestone in its bid to reach true zero emissions by 2030.
The Turner River solar project, located about 120 kilometres south of Port Hedland, will feature more than one million panels upon its expected completion in 2028.
It represents the final piece of Fortescue’s solar generation puzzle, lifting the company’s total renewable capacity across its terrestrial iron ore operations to more than 1.4 gigawatts, enough to power roughly half a million Australian homes.
Work has also begun on a 650-megawatt-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) at the company’s Cloudbreak mine site. Scheduled for completion in the 2027 financial year, the giant battery will deliver 74 megawatts of power for up to eight hours, smoothing out renewable generation alongside recently commissioned storage systems at Eliwana and North Star Junction.
The massive build is part of the Pilbara Green Grid, an integrated infrastructure network that already includes over 480 kilometres of high-voltage transmission lines, eventually expanding past 620 kilometres to link all of Fortescue’s mines, port facilities, and rail operations.
Once complete and combined with Fortescue’s Solomon Airport solar farm (440MW), Cloudbreak solar farm (190MW) and North Star Junction solar farm (100MW), Fortescue will have delivered all solar generation required to achieve Real Zero across its terrestrial iron ore operations.
Alongside the renewable infrastructure rollout, the miner is phasing out fossil fuels from its heavy transport.
Some 16 electric excavators and an electric drill are already operational, with half of the excavator fleet expected to be fully electric by the end of this year.
Fortescue also expects its first battery-electric haul truck to be operational before 2027, backed by an in-house 6-megawatt fast charger capable of topping up a haul truck in just 30 minutes.
Fortescue Metals and Operations CEO Dino Otranto said: “While others are still debating whether decarbonisation is possible, Fortescue is getting on with building what’s needed to do it.
“The technology is here. The economics are improving every year. And anyone watching global fuel markets can see exactly why electrification and renewable power matter more than ever.”
Construction continues on the 133MW Nullagine wind farm, which will further diversify Fortescue’s renewable energy mix.