Rio Tinto expands solar capacity at Kennecott copper operations
Diversified miner Rio Tinto has expanded renewable-energy generation at its Kennecott copper operations in Utah with the energisation of a new 25 MW solar plant.
The new facility increases Kennecott’s total installed solar capacity to 30 MW, following the completion of a 5 MW plant in 2023.
The expanded capacity is expected to reduce Scope 2 emissions by about 6%, or 20 000 t of CO2-equivalent a year, which is comparable to removing about 4 400 vehicles a year from the road.
Rio said the solar development also demonstrated a circular critical-minerals supply chain, with tellurium produced at Kennecott used in the manufacture of the PV panels installed at the site.
Construction of the 25 MW plant began in October 2024 in partnership with engineering group Bechtel. The project was completed and commissioned in October 2025 and was energised in December. It comprises more than 71 000 panels.
Kennecott began producing tellurium as a by-product of copper refining in 2022, making it one of only two producers of the critical mineral in the US. The tellurium is processed by Canada-based 5N Plus and supplied mainly to First Solar for panel manufacturing, keeping the supply chain within North America.
