Fortescue’s first BYD BESS in the Pilbara: design and operations notes for mine engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on Australian Mining Review – News
30 Second Briefing
Fortescue has installed its first large-scale BYD Battery Energy Storage System at North Star Junction in the Pilbara, a 250MWh, 50MW installation using 48 Blade Battery containers designed for high-temperature, heavy-duty mining conditions. The system will charge from daytime solar and feed Fortescue’s Pilbara Energy Connect network overnight, forming the first stage of a planned 4–5GWh storage rollout under its Real Zero strategy. A further 120MWh BESS is scheduled for Eliwana by early 2026, alongside the 190MW Cloudbreak Solar Farm now nearing 50% completion.
Technical Brief
- Fortescue’s NSJ BESS directly targets diesel and gas displacement in its iron ore power mix.
- Stored energy is dispatched into the Pilbara Energy Connect (PEC) network rather than islanded mine microgrids.
- Integration of a 190MW solar plant with multi-hundred-MWh BESS indicates a shift towards firmed renewables for remote mining.
- Fortescue’s Real Zero programme is framed as one of the most ambitious mining decarbonisation efforts globally by BYD.
Our Take
The 250 MWh NSJ BESS at North Star Junction sits at the upper end of what our database shows for single-site storage in Australian iron ore operations, signalling Fortescue’s intent to run Pilbara iron ore mines on grid-like stability rather than typical islanded diesel microgrids.
With a 4–5 GWh storage rollout planned across Pilbara Energy Connect by early 2026, Fortescue is effectively building a utility-scale storage fleet; this gives it optionality to integrate larger variable renewables at Eliwana and Cloudbreak Solar Farm without relying on new gas peakers.
The related December 2025 item on Fortescue reshaping its Pilbara decarbonisation strategy suggests a pivot away from in-house battery pack manufacturing, so this BYD-supplied NSJ BESS likely marks a move towards partnering with established OEMs for mine power while Fortescue Zero focuses on other green technology lines.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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