Northern Star–Zenith Energy renewables deal: power system notes for mine engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan

First reported on Australian Mining Review – News
30 Second Briefing
Northern Star Resources has signed a 25‑year power purchase agreement with Zenith Energy to develop the Eastern Goldfields power projects for the KCGM operations near Kalgoorlie, anchored by 256MW of wind, 138MW of solar and a 138MW/300MWh battery system, with commissioning targeted from mid‑2027. The solar farm will use more than 230,000 5B Maverick-mounted panels, while Goldwind turbines up to 150m high with 182m rotors will be installed about 10km from Kalgoorlie, taking Zenith’s contracted generation above 1.3GW. A parallel joint venture adds 120MW of Wärtsilä dual-fuel thermal generation and a 132kV transmission network, with RJE Global supplying transformers and EPC services.
Technical Brief
- Zenith will fully fund, build, own and operate all renewable facilities under the 25-year PPA.
- Key design, engineering and procurement work has already commenced ahead of environmental and regulatory approvals.
- The 138MW solar farm, using >230,000 panels, will be the largest at any Australian mine.
- 5B’s Australian-manufactured Maverick platform enables rapid, modular solar deployment from its Adelaide production facility.
- Goldwind turbines, sited ~10km outside Kalgoorlie, will be among Australia’s physically largest onshore machines.
- Zenith will also own and operate the 138MW/300MWh BESS to firm and optimise renewable dispatch.
- A separate JV delivers 120MW of thermal generation plus a new 132kV transmission network and substations.
Our Take
Within our 143 Mining stories, very few gold operations in WA’s Goldfields are pairing >250 MW of wind with large-scale batteries, so Northern Star’s Kalgoorlie-focused build-out positions it at the leading edge of decarbonisation among Australian precious metals producers.
A 25-year, 120 MW thermal arrangement alongside 256 MW wind, 138 MW solar and 300 MWh of storage suggests Northern Star is locking in long-term power price and reliability in Kalgoorlie, which is likely to improve cost certainty versus peers still reliant on shorter-term gas or diesel contracts.
Zenith Energy’s move to more than 1.3 GW of contracted generation with over 50% renewables indicates that WA miners like Northern Star are increasingly comfortable with high-penetration hybrid systems, which in our database are starting to displace traditional gas-only IPP models at remote Australian sites.
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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