Embracing TECHNOLOGY
Solar-Diesel Microgrids
in Zambian Mining Industry
In recent years, an ongoing drought has
caused a severe power crisis in Zambia.
e new analysis “Power crisis and
consequences for solar energy in the
Zambian mining sector” from the
Deutsche Gesellscha für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in its role
as facilitator of the Project Development
Programme (PDP) and the energy shows
that the framework conditions for
investments in solar have become more
attractive.
e power crisis has caused Zambia to
take emergency measures at extremely
high costs to close the gap between
generation and electricity consumption.
e mining industry is by far the biggest
consumer of electricity in Zambia and is
suffering greatly. Production is impaired
by load shedding and power outages.
Sometimes the only remedy is to use
stand-by diesel gensets for baseload
electricity generation. Power from diesel
is expensive, and so is grid power for
mines. At the beginning of the year, the
rates for miners have been raised to
10.35US¢/kWh, with further increases
expected—and this in a country that used
to have an abundance of inexpensive
electricity from huge hydropower plants.
A sustainable improvement of this
situation is not in sight, as some new
power plants will be completed in the next
few years, but at the same time, the output
capacity of the Zambian mines is expected
to double, as signi cant investments have
been made in past years.
A recent solar tender by Zambia's
Industrial Development Cooperation for
two 50 MWp solar power plants has
caught the attention of the mining
i n d u s t r y. e b e s t o ff e r w a s a t
US¢6.02/kWh, which is a signi cantly
lower price than Zambia pays for
emergency solar power and then mining
companies pay for either grid or diesel
electricity.
e analysis shows that local solar-diesel
hybrid microgrids have become an
interesting alternative. “We have also
observed in other countries of the region
that industrial players, such as mining
companies, lose large amounts of pro t
due to an unreliable power supply,” says
Tobias Cossen, Project Manager for
Southern Africa at PDP. “In Zambia, the
negative effects are twofold: severe
production losses and higher electricity
costs at the same time.” is development
drives mining companies to become more
self-sufficient. Zambia has excellent sun
irradiation, which has a positive effect on
electricity prices from photovoltaic (PV)
power plants. “e recent PV tender
comes at the right time,” adds omas
Hillig, founder of the consultancy
THEnergy. “It shows what development
solar energy has made in the past few
years; 6.02US¢/kWh is competitive with
any kind of conventional energ y,
especially in a region that suffers from a
lack of peak power during the day.”
Decentralized power generation in the
form of solar-diesel hybrid microgrids has
advantages beyond price. It allows for a
robust power supply in off-grid or weakgrid areas, such as Zambia, where the grid
sometimes poses severe reliability issues.
In microgrids, solar power, grid electricity
and diesel back-up power can be
integrated. Typically, solar energy has
priority in these power plants, as hardly
any direct cost is associated with the
operation of a PV system. e mines can
invest their own capital or can secure
long-term solar power supply through
p ower purchas e ag re ements w it h
investors who build a PV plant and sell the
electricity to the mine.
FMDZ | May - June 2016
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