The deal commits CleanCo to provide half of the forecast electricity demand of the central Queensland operations of BHP Mitsubishi Alliance (BMA) over five years from January 2026.
The new power purchase agreement, or PPA, effectively extends out to 2030 the existing low carbon emission power agreement between BMA and CleanCo that runs until the end of 2025.
BMA is Australia’s largest producer and supplier of seaborne metallurgical coal and is owned in a 50:50 split between BHP and Mitsubishi Development. It operates seven Bowen Basin mines and owns and operates the Hay Point Coal Terminal near Mackay.
Metallurgical coal, or coking coal, is a higher carbon variety of the fossil fuel that is an essential part of the steel-making process – one of those “hard-to-abate” sectors that is struggling to find a commercially viable zero carbon alternative.
In the meantime, heavy emitters like BHP will be keen to grab any emissions reductions they can find up and down the supply chain.
