Horizon Power has been awarded the contract to provide world-class iron ore producer Roy Hill, with energy to its Port Hedland port facility following a competitive tender process.
The State Government approved the agreement between Horizon Power and Roy Hill on 31 October and the Power Purchase Agreement was signed by both parties on 30 November 2016.
Roy Hill’s port stockyard, based in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, has capacity to store more than 2.3 million tonnes, with ten 230,000 tonne live stockpiles, and space to store additional material as necessary.
Early design and procurement work on the energy project has already begun and Horizon Power has contracted Zinfra Group to undertake the engineering, procurement and construction work.
Up to 50 new jobs are expected to be created during the construction phase which involves two express feeders or cables connecting Horizon Power’s South West Creek (SWC) substation to the Roy Hill substation, a distance of five kilometres. The cable will need to be bored under BHP and Roy Hill’s rail line in a delicate operation using a 600 millimetre borer.
The feeders will deliver a 20 megawatt (MW) power supply to the port operation which can be expanded to 25 MW if required.
Site works will begin in the first quarter of 2017 and the project is due to be completed by early 2018.
Horizon Power was given Cabinet approval to invest $24 million in transmission connection infrastructure and network upgrades.
No new generation plant is required to supply the energy as Horizon Power will be able to meet the energy requirements of the port from its existing generation portfolio, thanks to the capacity which will be available from the new TransAlta power station due to come on line next year. The TransAlta power station is close to completion and was funded through a joint private public partnership which means that there is no impact on net state debt.
Horizon Power Managing Director Frank Tudor said Horizon Power was delighted to have been successful in securing the competitive tender to supply energy to a world leader in iron ore production.
“Horizon Power is committed to a more coordinated and efficient North West Interconnected System and securing this contract, as well as setting up the private-public partnership with TransAlta last year, will help us achieve this vision,” Mr Tudor said.
“Roy Hill will be a beneficiary of the Hedland Power Precinct we have set up and is the third major customer of the TransAlta Energy station coming online next year. This Precinct has the capacity to connect multiple users and improve integration and efficiency on the NWIS well into the future,” he said.
Fast facts
- The Roy Hill Transmission Project will deliver transmission connection infrastructure to facilitate delivery of up to 25 MW of electricity to the Roy Hill Port facility in Port Hedland.
- The project involves the construction of two 33 MVA (megavolt amperes) transformers, a 33 kilovolt switch room at SWC Substation, two express feeders between SWC and Roy Hill Port facility and port side installation and connection of the transmission feeders within the Roy Hill Port facility. The scheduled commissioning date is 13 December 2017.
- Besides keeping an eye out for king tides which can halt construction up to once a month at the port, the other construction challenge is thrust boring under the BHP and Roy Hill rail line which involves stopping work when a train comes.
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