Fortescue has begun construction of the Nullagine Wind Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, marking the mining group’s first operational wind development and a key step in its plan to decarbonise operations.
The 133-megawatt onshore project will comprise 17 wind turbines and is expected to underpin a broader rollout of wind capacity across the Pilbara later this decade, the company said.
Construction of the wind farm follows progress at Fortescue’s Cloudbreak solar project, where more than 300,000 photovoltaic panels have now been installed.
The turbines, supplied by Envision Energy, are designed for low-wind conditions and to withstand extreme weather, including cyclones. The project will incorporate Nabrawind’s self-erecting tower technology, which Fortescue recently acquired.
Envision will subcontract Nabrawind to integrate the Nabralift tower system, enabling a hub height of 188 metres that Fortescue said is expected to set a new benchmark for onshore wind and improve energy output. A prototype turbine using the same design has been installed at an Envision test site in China and is scheduled to be relocated to the Pilbara in June 2026.
“Delivering Real Zero requires replacing diesel and gas with reliable, industrial-scale renewable energy,” said Dino Otranto, Fortescue’s chief executive officer for metals and operations.
“Wind – alongside solar and batteries – provides the dependable, low-cost power we need to electrify our haul trucks, drills, processing plants and rail across the Pilbara,” he added.
Otranto said the Nullagine Wind Project will feed into the Pilbara Energy Connect network, helping to balance daytime solar generation with stronger night-time and seasonal wind output.
Fortescue has set a target to deploy between 2 and 3 gigawatts of renewable energy and battery storage capacity across the Pilbara by 2030, subject to land access agreements and regulatory approvals.
