Fortescue Accelerates Renewable Power Network; Plans $2.5 Billion Expansion

By Rhiannon Hoyle

Fortescue said it is accelerating work on a standalone clean-energy network to power its iron ore operations in remote northwest Australia and plotting a further expansion valued at up to $2.5 billion.

The company said it expects to complete 290 megawatts of installed renewable capacity by early next year to meet the fixed energy requirements of its ore processing facilities, "enabling daytime 'green processing' across its Pilbara operations."

"Later that year, the system will power all of Fortescue's operations for 24-hour periods without fossil fuels," the company said in a statement Friday.

Fortescue expects to fully complete its power network by the end of 2028. It is targeting roughly 2 gigawatts of generation capacity in total under its decarbonization plans.

Fortescue is speeding up work on the system, designed to eliminate its need for diesel, "as global energy supply chains become increasingly unstable and the massive risks of fossil fuel dependence are exposed," it said.

The miner expects to save $100 million in fossil fuel costs by next year and forecast a reduction of at least $2-$4 a wet metric ton in so-called C1 unit costs when its decarbonization program is completed.

Beyond that, "Fortescue sees a clear pathway to expand its green energy system by a further approximately 2GW [gigawatts] of power generation capacity," supported by 4 gigawatt hours of battery capacity. This "is expected to be delivered for less than $2.5 billion," it said.

Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 09, 2026 19:29 ET (23:29 GMT)