Australian metal and energy producer Fortescue has started building its 133MW Nullagine wind farm in Western Australia to decarbonise its terrestrial iron ore operations by 2030.
The 17-turbine wind farm is expected to be completed by mid to late-2027, a Fortescue spokesperson told Argus on 16 January.
Fortescue's Nullagine project will help it achieve its 2030 target of zero terrestrial iron ore-related scope 1 and scope 2 CO2 equivalent (CO2e) emissions.
The company generated 2.6mn t of CO2e scope 1 emissions over the July 2024–June 2025 financial year. It expects to surrender 240,000 Australian Carbon Credit Units or Safeguard Mechanism Credits to meet 2024-25 regulatory requirements under the Safeguard Mechanism — Australia's excess carbon pricing scheme.
Fortescue will build 2-3GW of renewable generation and storage by 2030 to support its decarbonisation target, it said. The company plans to spend $900mn-1.2bn on decarbonisation investments in 2025-26, with a focus on fleet electrification and renewable energy projects.
Fortescue installed a five-hour, 250MWh battery system in Western Australia in December 2025. It is also building a 190MW solar farm at its Cloudbreak mine, which is expected to slash diesel consumption by 125mn litres/yr.
"Wind — alongside solar and batteries — provides the dependable, low-cost power we need to electrify our haul trucks, drills, processing plants and rail across the Pilbara," Fortescue Metal and Operation's chief executive office Dino Otranto said.
