SunSHIFT Pre-Commercial Deployment

closed

The project involves the fabrication of a 1 MW redeployable solar system (‘SunSHIFT’) that will be designed, constructed, ground-transported, and assembled at the South32 Cannington mine site in central Queensland.The solar system can be removed and re-deployed elsewhere if it is no longer needed, or if the mine site is decommissioned. The project aims to prove that a modular and redeployable solar system can be deployed at scale, packed-up and redeployed, providing a cleaner and more cost effective alternative to diesel generators for off-grid users such as mines, construction sites and remote communities.How the project worksRemote communities, mines and construction sites have traditionally depended on diesel and natural gas, which can be expensive.Small-scale renewable generation presents new opportunities to improve energy supply, reduce the need for network augmentation and reduce electricity costs. However, there have previously been few options available to deploy renewable energy systems for short-term arrangements (five to ten years).The redeployable asset helps mitigate the owner’s risk of an asset outliving the life of a mine and means decisions about long-term investments are easier to make.

High