'Sue me': mining tycoon strikes wind deals and goads Trump
Metals giant Fortescue orders Envision turbines and buys tower firm as boss Andrew Forrest lays into US president
Mining tycoon Andrew Forrest goaded Donald Trump over climate change as he struck deals to power his company’s facilities with wind.
Forrest’s Fortescue ordered turbines from Chinese OEM Envision and bought full control of Spanish wind tower specialist Nabrawind as it gears up to deploy renewables at its massive operations in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
“I'd much rather be getting my fuel from the air, from the sun, from the wind, which is going to be infinite, than I would from ‘drill, baby, drill’," he added, referencing the president’s notorious pro-fossil fuel slogan.
Fortescue’s deal with Envision – which itself this week announced a wider tie-up with Australia over renewable energy investments – will see the mining group use the Chinese company’s EN182-7.8MW turbines at a 132MW project in Pilbara where it runs one of the world’s largest iron ore mining operations.
Alongside the turbine order Forrest’s group named Envision its “strategic partner” in wind and energy storage, one of several link ups announced by the mining group with green energy specialists.
Fortescue additionally bought full control of Nabrawind, the Pamplona-based tower specialist in which it has been a long-term investor.
Nabrawind’s flagship technology is a self-erecting steel tower system, which Fortescue said will be deployed at heights of 188 metres along with the Envision turbines.
Fortescue has set a goal of deploying 2-3GW of renewables and storage at Pilbara, a target Forrest reportedly told journalists in New York would likely be exceeded.
The tycoon’s ongoing role as a green energy champion comes despite Fortescue having to rein back some of its initial ambitions, especially in the field of green hydrogen where Forrest was arguably the world’s highest-profile evangelist.