NextSource Materials Inc. announced it has completed commissioning and achieved full operations of its solar and battery hybrid power plant (the "Solar Hybrid Plant") at Molo. The Solar Hybrid Plant is owned and operated by CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) under a 20-year power purchase agreement and comprises a 2.69 MWp solar photovoltaic array ("PV array") combined with a 1.37 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), and a 3.1 MW thermal (diesel) generator plant. The entire PV array, incorporating 4,902 photovoltaic panels covering an area of 12,663 square metres (~1.3 hectares), has been fully integrated with the BESS.

Together with load balancing provided by the BESS, the Solar Hybrid Plant will be capable of supplying up to 100% of the Molo processing plant's power requirements during peak daylight hours, with the thermal facility supplying all baseload and off-peak power requirements, to ensure uninterrupted power supply to the mine. The Solar Hybrid Plant has a dedicated connection to the mine camp and all auxillary buildings ensuring maximum usage of renewable energy generated. The Solar Hybrid Plant will be able to provide up to 35% of Molo's complete system power needs from renewable energy, significantly reducing all-in sustaining costs and carbon emissions by 2,275 tonnes annually.

The Solar Hybrid Plant will generate clean power to a capacity of 4 GWh, with the current PV array designed with extra capacity such that no expansion of the PV array will be required for Molo production capacity increases of up to 32,000 tpa. NextSource and CBE are committed to optimizing the solar component and increasing the amount of renewable energy available to the mine, which could include expansion of the Solar Farm or installation of wind turbines. In support of this, CBE has installed a wind measuring LIDAR device to evaluate the wind resource at the site and studying the feasibility of adding wind generation in the short term.

As part of any potential future expansion of the Molo mine, the Company has set a goal of increasing the percentage generated by renewable power to at least 50 percent.