Rio Tinto signs a 15-year renewable energy deal with U.S. based TerraGen

Rio Tinto announced on Friday that its Kennecott operation, located in Utah, U.S.A., had signed a virtual power purchase agreement for 15 years with TerraGen, to source renewable energy in Texas from a newly built wind farm.

The deal will see Rio Tinto purchase 78.5 megawatts of electricity from TerraGen’s Monte Cristo I Windpower Project, which started commercial operations last week.

The agreement was reached after the Trump Administration added copper to its list of critical minerals in the United States, and Washington and Canberra are working to stabilise their ties following the recent trade deal that deepened cooperation on clean energy supply chains and critical minerals.

Rio Tinto’s Kennecott smelter, one of only two copper smelters operating in the United States today, is a strategic asset in terms of domestic copper supply for power grids, electric vehicles and renewable infrastructure.

Anglo-Australian Mines has committed to reducing its Scope 1 & 2 emissions by 2030, and reaching net zero by 2050.

Rio Tinto's electricity is sourced from renewable resources in about 78% of its global usage. The company hopes to increase this share to 90% by the end decade.

The purchase of renewable energy will help Kennecott decarbonize. Kennecott installed a 5-MW solar plant in the year 2023, and is now nearing completion on a second 25-MW facility. Reporting by Atharva Sing in Bengaluru, Editing by Tasim Zaid

(source: Reuters)