Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) has turned on a 25-megawatt solar plant at its Kennecott copper mine in Utah. Along with a 5MW array finished in 2023, the site now has 30MW of solar capacity—enough to supply electricity for about 1,000 homes and cut Scope 2 emissions by 20,000 tons of CO₂, or the equivalent of taking 4,400 cars off the road each year.
Using Tellurium from the Mine
The new panels include tellurium produced on-site at Kennecott, a byproduct of copper refining. That tellurium is turned into thin-film semiconductor materials by 5N Plus (TSE:VNP) in Canada and supplied mainly to First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR) for the panels now installed at the mine. This keeps the supply chain entirely in North America and highlights a domestic approach to critical minerals for clean energy.
Partnerships Help Delivery
Construction started in October 2024 with Bechtel, finished ahead of schedule, and supported 200 local jobs. Rio Tinto emphasized the project as a demonstration of supply chain resilience, circularity, and a step toward a lower-carbon operation.
Why Investors Should Watch
- RIO links mining to renewable energy, showing practical applications for critical minerals.
- Using domestic tellurium may reduce reliance on imports and could attract government incentives.
- Collaboration with FSLR and VNP shows how mining assets can support clean-energy manufacturing.
For investors, the Kennecott solar project signals Rio Tinto’s move to integrate sustainability with operations, potentially creating long-term value while reducing emissions.
