Perdaman has turned sod on its 30-megawatt Helios solar farm project near Karratha, designed to supply renewable energy to its US$4.5 billion Ceres urea plant.
Perdaman has turned sod on its 30-megawatt Helios solar farm project near Karratha, designed to supply renewable energy to its US$4.5 billion Ceres urea plant.
The project will take 12 months to complete and be built across a site within the Burrup strategic industrial area as well as on rooftops of the Ceres project buildings and urea sheds.
Construction will start in earnest in the second quarter of this year.
The project will be built by Perdaman’s in-house subsidiary, Perdaman Advanced Energy, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 43,800 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum.
It will be a key enabler for Ceres, which will produce 2.3 million metric tonnes of urea once it’s operational from mid-2027.
In a statement, WA premier Roger Cook said the project reflected his government’s lofty decarbonisation for one of the nation’s most emissions-intensive regions.
“Perdaman’s investment in renewable energy is the exact thing I want to see more of in the Pilbara, which will be key to my government’s vision for diversifying Western Australia’s economy,” he said.
Perdaman chair Vikas Rambal said the company was keen to reduce its carbon footprint.
“Project Helios is another important step in reducing the carbon intensity of Project Ceres and reinforcing Perdaman’s commitment to long-term sustainability,” he said.
The milestone at Helios comes at an opportune time for Perdaman, as it seeks to become the largest domestic supplier of fertiliser in Australia.
The price of urea has soared in recent weeks as conflict in Iran has unfolded, with the bulk of supply disrupted by supply chain bottlenecks.
An estimated 60 per cent of Australia’s urea imports are carried through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea channel south of Iran.
Ceres is almost 40 per cent constructed, according to Perdaman, and will be backed by a 20-year gas supply agreement with Woodside Energy.
