Asia / Industrial & mining

De Grussa Copper Mine Microgrid

Organizations, planners, suppliers, equipment, controls, and reported system specifications—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations11
System facts17
Sources reviewed5
Last researched2026-07-19

DeGrussa was a utility-scale off-grid mine hybrid: 10.6 MW AC of single-axis-tracking PV, a 6 MW battery, and an existing 19 MW diesel station serving an 11–13 MW continuous mine load. ARENA's final knowledge report documents the integration controls, operating reserves, participants, and a field communications failure down to the named controller bridge.

Research status
Commissioned in June 2016 for the DeGrussa mine; post-mine operating status is not established by the cited project reports
Historical classification
Industrial & mining
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
-25.57444, 119.25028
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.

Project delivery

Who was involved in De Grussa Copper Mine Microgrid?

11 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

ABB

Battery control-system supplier identified in the commissioning report [4]

Organization

Australian Renewable Energy Agency

Project funding and knowledge-sharing agency [3][4]

Organization

ComAp

InteliSys communications-bridge supplier [4]

Organization

DeGrussa Solar Project Pty Ltd

ARENA project lead and project company [3]

Organization

Juwi

Publicly named participant; role not specified in the recovered record [1]

Organization

juwi AG

Project partner [3]

Organization

juwi Renewable Energy Pty Ltd

Hybrid-system developer, EPC integrator, and knowledge-report author [3][4]

Organization

Kalgoorlie Power Systems

Owner and operator of the existing 19 MW diesel power station [3]

Organization

Neoen

Solar-battery project owner in the cited operating period [3]

Organization

OTOC Limited

Construction partner [3]

Organization

Sandfire Resources NL

Mine owner and solar power purchaser [3]

System evidence

Reported capacity and specifications

Values can describe different project phases or components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Solar
10600 [1]
KW Gas/Diesel
19000 [1]
Storage
6MW/1.5 MWh [1]
Solar PV
10.6 MW AC, single-axis tracking [3][5]
PV module count
Approximately 34,000 modules [5]
Battery power
6 MW [4][5]
Existing diesel station
19 MW [3]
Continuous mine load
Approximately 11–13 MW [4]
Battery transformer
One 5 MVA transformer [4]
Reported annual solar production
Approximately 20.4 GWh [5]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Controller communications bridge

ComAp — InteliSys Bridge

Interfaces plant controls; the knowledge report traces intermittent commissioning communications failures to outdated bridge firmware. [4]

02

Battery control system

ABB

Named in the knowledge report's controller-communications incident; the exact ABB product model is not disclosed. [4]

03

Battery transformer

Model not publicly disclosed

Single 5 MVA battery transformer; manufacturer and model are not stated in the reviewed report. [4]

04

Plant integration controls

juwi

Coordinates PV, battery, and diesel operating constraints; the cited reports do not name a commercial software release. [4]

Recovered detail

Additional technical notes

Concise system facts recovered from the historical project record. Treat these as historical unless a newer primary source confirms them.

  • Operating reserve

    The operating philosophy maintained spinning reserve equal to 1 MW plus 85% of instantaneous PV output across battery and diesel resources. [4]

  • Grid support

    The battery provides ramp-rate control, frequency support, reactive-power control, voltage support, and spinning reserve for the isolated mine grid. [4]

  • Commissioning lesson

    A controller communications fault was resolved by updating ComAp InteliSys Bridge firmware, a rare publicly documented field-level integration detail. [4]

Provenance

5 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2020-07-05

  2. [2]
    Microgrid Media

    microgridmedia.com · Archived source · captured 2020-07-05

  3. [3]
    DeGrussa Solar Project

    Australian Renewable Energy Agency · Primary source

  4. [4]
    DeGrussa Solar Project Knowledge Sharing Report

    juwi / Australian Renewable Energy Agency · Primary source

  5. [5]