Rio Tinto has approved construction of a new 25 MW solar plant at its Kennecott copper operation in Utah, bringing the mine’s total solar capacity to 30 MW.

The new solar plant will be located next to Kennecott’s existing 5 MW solar plant, completed last year. Together, the two solar plants will reduce Kennecott’s Scope 2 emissions by approximately 6% annually.

Construction of the solar plant is expected to be completed next year. Bechtel Corporation will design and manage construction of the plant.

“Expanding our solar farm is the latest step in our journey to reduce our carbon footprint,” says Nate Foster, Rio Tinto Kennecott’s managing director. 

“Together with other measures we’ve taken, such as closing a coal-fired power plant, deploying battery electric vehicles underground and our recent transition to renewable diesel, we have reduced our emissions by millions of tons over the past few years. We’re demonstrating every day that sustainable practices and resource production can go hand-in-hand to benefit our company as well as our community.”

The 210-acre solar array will include 71,000 panels, which contain tellurium produced by Kennecott, a byproduct of mining and refining copper.

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Rio Tinto Beefs Up Solar at Kennecott Mine