BHP is planning to install up to 500 megawatts of green energy in the Pilbara so it can switch its haul trucks from diesel to batteries.
BHP is planning to install up to 500 megawatts of green energy in the Pilbara so it can switch its haul trucks from diesel to batteries.
The miner said today it was on track to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in operational greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, from FY20 levels.
The biggest challenge in its pursuit of that goal is cutting the use of diesel, with haul trucks being the largest user of diesel in Australia.
In a presentation today updatng its decarbonisation strategy, vice-president planning and technical Anna Wiley said BHP's preferred pathway to eliminate diesel was via electrification.
She said this was more efficient than switching to hydrogen.
The strategy would include installing batteries in its haul trucks.
BHP has developed operating prototypes with truck manufacturers Caterpillar and Komatsu and plans to begin operating trials over the next two years, with a view to deploying battery powered trucks by 2028.
It anticipates the operating cost for battery powered trucks would be comparable to diesel trucks but acknowledged several unknowns.
For instance, battery trucks may require charging more frequently, which could require more truck hours to produce the same volume of output.
Battery life may be shorter than truck life, in which case batteries would need to be replaced.
The company is planning to spend about $US4 billion ($A6.1 billion) between now and 2030 to decarbonise its global operations.
About 40 per cent will be spent in its Pilbara iron ore business.
This will include installing up to 500MW of additional renewable (wind and solar) energy generation and storage capacity by the end of the decade.
Its main power source in the Pilbara is the 190MW Yarnima gas-fired power station in Newman, which came online in 2014.
BHP said Yarnima would have a long future.
It was highly efficient, as it emitted 35 per cent less carbon dioxide per megawatt hour than the Australian average and would be required to provide power during periods of lower renewables generation.
BHP said it was also exploring options to connect its inland mining operations to the North West Interconnected System.
Across its Australian operations, the largest source of operational emissions in 2020 (the baseline year) was its Queensland coal mining business, which accounted for 49 per cent of the total.
Its WA iron ore business contributed 26 per cent and BHP Nickel West 11 per cent.
The balance was from its Olympic Dam mine in South Australia and its NSW coal mining operations.
For iron ore, emissions came overwhelmingly from diesel usage (76 per cent of the total).
Nickel West was very different, with the main source being purchased electricity (52 per cent).
BHP has already achieved some early wins by signing power purchase agreements with renewable energy providers, particularly at its Nickel West mines in the northern Goldfields.
