The Association of Mining and Exploration Companies has welcomed a promise by the incumbent Western Australian Labor Party to build a 50 megawatt battery in the major mining hub of Kalgoorlie if it wins the March election.
AMEC, the peak industry body for the Australian mining sector, has been working with the Western Australian Government to find ways to support the state’s emerging vanadium industry.
If the Labor Party is re-elected, it plans to build the $150 million battery, which will deliver 10 hours of back-up electricity storage, providing another layer of security for the Goldfields energy system while also strengthening Western Australia’s infrastructure.
CEO Neil van Drunen says this support for the vanadium industry underpins years of work by AMEC and its members.
“The project will create some 150 jobs, and a vanadium flow battery of this size provides a nice entry level to adding more batteries to WA’s energy mix,” van Drunen says.
“The science shows that vanadium flow batteries provide long duration energy storage. Adding these to our energy grid can only help appease our ongoing thirst for energy.”
The battery is slated to be operational by 2029 with the final location to be determined in consultation with industry.
Western Australia hosts one of the largest vanadium deposits globally, located south of Meekatharra. The mine is due to start supplying vanadium by 2027.
More than 85% of the world’s vanadium supply comes from Russia, China, South Africa, and Brazil.
Vanadium is a hard, silvery-grey transition metal that is electrically conductive and thermally insulating. About 80% of vanadium produced is used as a steel additive.
The Western Australian Government has pledged to retire state-owned coal-fired power by 2030.
WA Premier Roger Cook says strengthening and reinforcing the electricity system is his number one priority for the Goldfields.
“We have work well underway to replace West Kalgoorlie Power Station by 2026, secured additional gas back up from the mining industry last year, and invested millions in improvements to the transmission network,” he says.
The government has invested more than $130 million to improve energy reliability in the WA Goldfields.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: iStock
