Rio Tinto’s 25 MW Kennecott solar plant: design and supply-chain notes for mine planners
Reviewed by Joe Ashwell
First reported on International Mining – News
30 Second Briefing
Rio Tinto has energised a new 25 MW solar plant at its Kennecott copper operations in Utah, adding to a 5 MW solar facility completed in 2023 to expand on-site renewable power. The project showcases a circular critical-minerals supply chain, with tellurium recovered at Kennecott used in manufacturing the solar panels that now supply the mine. For mine planners and process engineers, the build-out signals further integration of site-derived critical minerals into decarbonised power infrastructure for large-scale copper operations.
Technical Brief
- Tellurium recovered from Kennecott’s copper refining circuit is used in manufacturing the site’s PV panels.
- Closed-loop use of site-derived tellurium reduces external critical-mineral supply dependence for power infrastructure.
- Integration of solar into an active open-pit and concentrator complex requires careful load management and grid stability studies.
- On-site generation directly offsets grid electricity demand for crushing, grinding and ancillary plant loads.
- Project provides a full-scale reference for coupling by-product critical-mineral recovery with embedded renewable generation at copper mines.
Our Take
Within our 682 Mining stories, Rio Tinto’s Kennecott copper operations stand out as one of the few USA-based copper assets pairing on-site renewables with critical-minerals by-products like tellurium, which can strengthen ESG narratives for downstream electronics and solar customers.
The step-up from the earlier 5 MW facility to a 25 MW plant suggests Kennecott is moving beyond pilot-scale renewables towards a material share of mine-site power, which can help buffer the operation against US grid price volatility in Utah and support long-life copper production planning.
Among the 177 copper and critical-minerals pieces in our database, most decarbonisation items focus on grid PPAs rather than embedded generation, so this build-out at Kennecott signals that large diversified miners are more willing to own and operate renewable capacity directly at established North American 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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