In February 2018, Zenith announced it had executed its largest power purchase agreement (PPA) to date with Newmont to build, own and operate a 62MW power station at Tanami, under an initial 10‐year term with an option to extend the contract for a further 10 years.

In addition to the finished diesel portion, Zenith has energised the 42km, 66kV interconnect between the Dead Bullock Soak and Granites sites at Tanami.
The power producer also confirmed that the supply of diesel‐fuelled electricity has commenced, with gas supply to follow, consistent with the previously announced March quarter deadline.

Zenith said it has completed several design, engineering, logistics and construction targets on time and on budget.

Located approximately 520km north-west of Alice Springs, in the remote Tanami Desert, the power station comprises 52MW of gas‐fired and circa 10MW of diesel (back‐up) power generation.

To put the scale of the power station in perspective, the average Australian household consumes around 25KWh of power each day, whereas the Tanami facility will produce upwards of 864,000KWh per day.

With the completion of this facility, Zenith has 428MW of total generation capacity under control.

The design and construction phase for Tanami required the transport of three 150t Wärtsilä 34DF generators by road train from Fremantle; a 3,000km journey that took more than a week to complete.

Managing director of Zenith Energy, Hamish Moffat, said: "The construction of our 62MW power station at Tanami, on time and within budget, is testament to the capability and commitment of the entire Zenith Energy team. As the largest BOO hybrid gas‐diesel project we have undertaken, completion of the Tanami power station is a major milestone for Zenith.

"Diesel-fuelled electricity supply from the facility has commenced and gas supply is imminent. We look forward to delivering cost‐effective, reliable power to Newmont's Tanami operation for years to come."