MINE POWER
“ Costs of wind and solar have fallen further and the commercial benefits for mines have become even more attractive ,” he said . “ We are progressing towards higher contribution from wind and solar with each project that we design and build , and our experts continue to push the limits towards 100 % renewable energy .”
This landmark milestone looks like being achieved in South America with grid-based projects through a
combination of solar , wind and other renewable
energy inputs , yet hitting that benchmark off-the-grid
is a different proposition altogether .
Reaching this target might not be that far away with the progress being made with solar power technology , according to Roth-Deblon .
“ When we built the DeGrussa hybrid system in 2016 , the solar modules had 310 Wp capacity ,” he said . “ We are now deploying 450 Wp modules and it does not stop there . Our experts already design
systems that will have modules that deliver more than 500 watts each .”
He added : “ Hybrids for mines have moved from
bolt-on solutions for existing electricity generation to become integrated energy solutions . Future
systems will not only provide power to stationary equipment but include electric fleets , variable mining and further optimised mine designs .”
Energising for electrification
The electrification of the wider mining sector – especially the mobile fleet – is acting as a major
enabler for accelerating decarbonisation strategies , according to ENGIE Impact ’ s Bambawale .
“ Once the machines are electrified , either through battery-electric , permanently grid-connected , or green hydrogen , it becomes a lot easier to transition toward zero carbon over time , as the cost of renewables keeps decreasing and the direct and external cost of fossil fuels goes up ,” she said .
But what should come first : electrification of the fleet or decarbonisation of the grid ?
“ The commercial availability of electrified equipment by established OEMs is a major enabler to implement decarbonisation strategies ,” Bambawale said . “ It creates a whole set of realistic options , which we assess in our decarbonisation roadmaps .”
But these equipment solutions need to be mineready otherwise they will affect productivity , whereas Bambawale says the switch to decarbonised energy inputs at site would be a lot smoother .
“ Even if the electric grid is fuelled partly by fossil fuels , it is a lot easier to decarbonise the electricity supply without continuously having to interrupt the mining process itself , once it is already electrified ,” she said . Siemens knows a thing or two about this . Its mining-specific power solutions have recently benefitted from a strategic technology partnership with juwi to focus on microgrids for the mining industry .
It has also looked to leverage its power solutions expertise within the expanding mine electrification space .
“ There are many ways to achieve a decarbonised end goal and the roadmap an organisation chooses to get there can have a major impact on factors such as cost , risk and feasibility ,” ENGIE Impact ’ s Malavika Jain Bambawale says
Siemens Australia , in November , announced it had teamed up with Murray Engineering to develop a ground-breaking high-powered electric vehicle charging station for use at mines both below and above ground .
The vehicle-agnostic charging stations will first be used to power a new light electric vehicle being designed and manufactured by Murray Engineering . It will provide a fully-enclosed solution specifically
, this application is saving 40 hours of c in components e wou bottom t line if material and spillage ssues were eliminated
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