Newcrest Combined cycle PPS 2022

Newcrest Combined cycle PPS 2022 is an Industrial and Commercial Emissions Reduction project located at the Telfer gold and copper mine, approximately 400km southeast of Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It was registered in April 2023.

Industrial and Commercial Emissions Reduction projects involve reducing energy or fuel emissions by modifying, installing, removing, or replacing existing emissions-producing equipment. In this project, waste heat capture from gas turbines is used to generate additional steam power, creating a highly efficient combined cycle power plant.

The Telfer area is known for intensive large-scale mining operations situated within the vast outback of the Great Sandy Desert. The region is classified as a hot desert climate with very low annual rainfall, averaging around 370mm mostly via summer cyclones, and the soils are characteristically rust-colored, iron-rich sand sitting above ancient sedimentary rock.

This project is particularly noteworthy because the Telfer mine is so remote it is entirely off-grid. It relies on a purpose-built 450km natural gas pipeline from Port Hedland to fuel its own power station, meaning efficiency upgrades like this combined cycle system are critical to lowering the site's overall carbon footprint and fuel consumption.