Long-term future for New Zealand’s Tiwai Point aluminium smelter secured with new power deals
30 Mayo 2024 - 3:33PM
Business Wire
New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) has signed 20-year
electricity arrangements that secure the future of the Tiwai Point
aluminium smelter to continue competitively producing high-purity,
low-carbon metal, backed by a diversified mix of renewable
electricity from New Zealand’s South Island.
NZAS, which owns and operates Tiwai Point, has signed contracts
with electricity generators Meridian Energy, Contact Energy and
Mercury NZ to set pricing for an aggregate of 572 megawatts (MW) of
electricity to meet the smelter’s full electricity needs.
The agreements, which are subject to regulatory approvals and
other conditions, are expected to commence in July 2024 and run
until at least 2044.
Rio Tinto Aluminium Chief Executive Jérôme Pécresse said “We are
pleased the long-term future of the Tiwai Point smelter has been
secured with these agreements, which were reached with a genuinely
collaborative spirit between all parties.
“They give us confidence that our New Zealand workforce and
assets can continue competitively producing the high purity,
low-carbon aluminium needed for the global energy transition.
“This is an exciting new chapter, and we would like to thank
everyone involved, including our new energy partners, our local
Indigenous partners Ngāi Tahu, the Southland community, the New
Zealand government and our NZAS workforce for their support in
getting us here today.”
The new electricity arrangements include 20-year demand response
agreements with Meridian Energy and Contact Energy, under which
NZAS may be requested to reduce electricity consumption by up to a
total of 185MW. This will help ensure secure electricity supply to
New Zealand homes and businesses when it is most needed.
In a separate transaction, Rio Tinto has entered into an
agreement to acquire Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited’s (SCC’s)
20.64% interest in NZAS for an undisclosed price. On completion of
the transaction, NZAS will be 100% owned by Rio Tinto.
Rio Tinto has also entered into an agreement, for an undisclosed
price, to acquire SCC’s 2.46% interest in Boyne Smelters Ltd (BSL),
which owns and operates the Boyne Island aluminium smelter in
Gladstone, Australia. On completion of this acquisition, Rio
Tinto’s interest in BSL will be 61.85%.
The sale and purchase transactions are part of SCC’s business
portfolio transformation. Each transaction is subject to various
conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals from New
Zealand’s Overseas Investment Office and Australia’s Foreign
Investment Review Board, as applicable.
Notes to editors
NZAS contributes about NZ$400 million to the Southland economy
annually, or 6.5% of Southland’s GDP.
About 1000 full time-equivalent employees and contractors work
at the smelter, with around a further 2200 people offsite employed
indirectly.
Category: NZAS
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