Fortescue ‘on track’ to achieve 2030 decarbonisation target
New Fortescue board member Larry Marshall says he is convinced the company will achieve the goal of decarbonising its mining operations by 2030 as it seeks to become a major supplier of prototype technology and machinery beyond the resources sector.
The former CSIRO boss said he had no regrets about joining the board of the miner despite his appointment coinciding with a leadership upheaval sparked by the departure of chief executive Fiona Hick in August after just six months in the top job.
Fortescue director Larry Marshall (left) and chief executive of the miner, Dino Otranto, pose for a photo in WA yesterday.
Fortescue chairman Andrew Forrest blamed tensions over plans to turn the iron operations green for the shock parting of ways with Ms Hick.
Dr Marshall said he conducted his own due diligence to make sure Fortescue’s decarbonisation targets were achievable before agreeing to join the board.
Fortescue Metals chief executive Dino Otranto, who replaced Ms Hick in August, said on Tuesday that he didn’t observe any tension over greening iron ore in his former role of chief operating officer.
Mr Otranto has inherited the $US6.2 billion budget earmarked by Fortescue for a switch to renewable energy to decarbonise the iron ore operations by 2030.
He said spending would start in earnest in the next couple of years with the spending likely split roughly equally between building solar and wind farms, rolling out a new truck and machinery fleet, and constructing transmission lines and charging infrastructure.
Fortescue estimates it needs 1000 megawatts of solar capacity and 1000 megawatts of wind farm capacity to decarbonise and save about 700 million of litres of diesel a year.
Mr Otranto was looking at the option of using
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