The Barrick-operated Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture with Newmont Corp., 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 percent of NGM’s annual power demand while realizing an equivalent emissions reduction of 234 Kt of carbon dioxide per year.
Speaking at a recent ribbon-cutting ceremony at NGM’s TS Solar Power Plant, which was attended by Sen. 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 percent 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 recently awarded $95 million in funding from the U.S. 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.
