Nevada Gold Mines Completes Construction of 200MW Solar Power Plant
The Barrick-operated Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), a joint venture with Newmont Corporation, has completed the construction of the second and final phase of a 200-megawatt solar power plant, which will have the capacity of producing 17% of NGM’s annual power demand while realizing an equivalent emissions reduction of 234 kilotonnes of carbon dioxide per year.
Speaking at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at NGM’s TS Solar Power Plant, which was attended by Senator Jacky Rosen and the Department of Energy’s Heidi Miller, Barrick president and chief executive Mark Bristow said the solar facility would reduce NGM’s total annual greenhouse gas emissions by 8% against a 2018 baseline.
“The solar facility is one of many initiatives to reduce our reliance on carbon-based electricity sources. We are also in the process of modifying NGM’s TS Power Plant to use cleaner burning natural gas as a fuel source.
Additionally, in 2023, we began introducing electric vehicles to our light vehicle fleet which included the required charging infrastructure in Elko and at the main mines Carlin, Cortez, Turquoise Ridge and Phoenix as well as here at the TS Power Plant,” Bristow said.
With the second phase of the TS Solar Power plant adding another 100MW of energy-producing capacity to NGM’s operations in April this year, our carbon reduction efforts continue at the TS Power Plant where we are converting to co-fire capability and furthering studies into geothermal energy sources.
NGM was also recently awarded $95 million in funding from the US Department of Energy to develop additional solar facilities with battery energy storage systems (BESS) at the Turquoise Ridge and Cortez mine sites.
These will serve as a secondary power source, mitigating the impacts of power grid disruption and enhancing renewable energy consumption during off-peak hours.
