This Company Will Build A Solar Power Plant In A Diamond Mine!

Mining company RioTinto (RioTinto) has announced a plan to build a solar power station at a diamond mine in Canada's Northwest Territories.

The solar power plant will be equipped with more than 6,600 solar modules to provide 25% of the Diavik diamond mine's electricity. The plant will be equipped with double-sided components to generate electricity using light reflected from the snow that covers the mine for most of the year.

Construction of the solar farm will begin in the coming weeks and it will be fully operational in the first half of 2024. Rio Tinto did not provide the amount of electricity generated by the solar PV project, but said it would generate about 4.2GWh of electricity per year.

At present, the installed capacity of the wind-diesel hybrid facility at the mine reaches 55.4MW.

"Diavik has established itself as a leader in cold-climate renewable energy technology through its wind-diesel hybrid power facility and this important project demonstrates our determination to reduce our carbon footprint." "I am very pleased that we have significantly increased our renewable energy generation with the largest solar power plant in Northern Canada," said AngelaBigg, president and COO of Diavik Diamond Mine.

Rio Tinto also said the project has received $3.3 million from the Northwest Territories Government's Large Emitters Greenhouse Gas Reduction Investment Program and $600,000 from the Canadian Government's Clean Power Investment Tax Credit Program.

"This partnership demonstrates our commitment to promoting sustainable development while reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the Northwest Territories, and is a signal of how our economy continues to lead in these areas," said CarolineWawzonek, Minister of Finance for the Northwest Territories Government.

Last year, Rio Tinto subsidiary RichardBayMinerals signed a corporate power purchase agreement with renewable energy company Voltalia to purchase electricity from a 148MW solar farm in Limpopo province, South Africa.