Zenith Energy has announced significant progress in its Jundee Solar Farm project, located in Western Australia’s gold mining region.
The project, supported by Northern Star Resources, reached a major milestone on May 31, 2024, with the successful commissioning of its first solar farm blocks.
These newly activated blocks are now contributing solar energy to the Jundee Grid, enhancing the region’s access to clean and sustainable power.
Simultaneously, the company has begun commissioning its battery energy storage system (BESS), which has already captured and discharged its first solar energy.
The BESS is expected to play a crucial role in storing excess energy from the solar farm, ensuring a stable and reliable power supply during periods of low solar production.
This integration is part of Zenith Energy’s strategy to optimise renewable energy utilisation and maintain grid stability.
The Jundee Solar Farm project is part of a broader renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Zenith Energy and Northern Star Resources.
The agreement includes the addition of 24 megawatts (MW) of wind power, 16.9 megawatts peak (MWp) of solar capacity, and 12 MW/13.4 MWh of battery storage to the existing 46.6MW natural gas-fuelled power generation that Zenith has been providing since 2016.
Once fully operational, the renewable energy components are expected to provide up to 56 per cent of the mine site’s power needs.
Northern Star’s Jundee Operation, an underground mining facility, is located in the Northern Goldfields region of Western Australia, approximately 45km north-east of Wiluna and about 520km north of Kalgoorlie.
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