Tag Archives: hybrid power

Cummins and China’s NHL commission diesel-hybrid haul truck at Baiyun iron mine

13th March 2024Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining equipment, Power supply for mines, Steel and iron ore, Sustainable miningBaogang Group, China, Cummins, diesel-electric, Haiquan Guo, hybrid power, Iron ore, Jenny Bush, Ltd, Molly Puga, NHL, North Hauler Joint Stock Co., QSK50, QSK60Daniel Gleeson

Cummins Inc says it has commissioned its diesel-hybrid solution in partnership with one of China’s leading rigid mining truck manufacturers, North Hauler Joint Stock Co., Ltd. (NHL), demonstrating progress in decarbonisation for industrial customers.

The hybrid NHL NTH260, a 220-t payload mining truck, rolled off the production line in January and is headed to Baiyun iron mine of Baogang Group, China, to begin field testing in March. As a power solutions provider, Cummins’ optimised hybrid system allows the truck engine to be downsized from the previous 2,500 horsepower QSK60 to the current 2,000 HP two-stage QSK50.

“We’re excited to share this significant milestone in our journey to advance bridge technologies and provide our mining customers with innovative, practical decarbonisation solutions,” Jenny Bush, Cummins Power Systems President, who joined key leaders from Cummins Power Systems China for the commissioning ceremony in the NHL industrial park in Bautou, China, said.

The truck is expected to provide a leading total cost of ownership based on initial cost advantages, fuel efficiency and extended service life of the engine, Cummins says. Improved fuel efficiency directly correlates to emissions and greenhouse gas reductions. Advanced hybrids have the potential to improve fuel efficiency up to 30% dependent on the mine profile and advanced battery technology and controls integration, according to the company.

Haiquan Guo, General Manager, NHL, said: “Our partnership with Cummins spans 40 years and advancing the hybridisation of our equipment is another demonstration of what we can accomplish together for the benefit of miners globally.”

NHL produces trucks with payload range from 35 t to 360 t, with Cummins as the standard engine configuration.

Molly Puga, Cummins Power Systems Executive Director of Strategy, Digital and Product Planning, added: “We are intent on enabling multiple pathways to carbon neutrality for industrial markets, including both first-fit and retrofit solutions. It’s partnerships with our customers like NHL and Baiyun iron mine that will accelerate product availability in the market and make both near- and long-term carbon reduction goals attainable.”

In 2023, Cummins announced approval of unblended renewable diesel use in all industrial high-horsepower engines.

Pacific Energy helps Westgold Resources power Mid West region operations

12th March 2024Environmental, Mine operation news, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable miningBig Bell, Bluebird, Fortnum, hybrid power, Jamie Cullen, mine power, Pacific Energy, Tuckabianna, Wayne Bramwell, WestgoldDaniel Gleeson

Pacific Energy says it has successfully designed and delivered four industry-leading hybrid power systems for Westgold Resources Limited’s gold mining operations in Western Australia’s Mid West region.

The hybrid systems, which have a combined capacity of 82 MW, have been delivered under a seven-year build-own-operate agreement and comprise 28 MW of solar, 11.5 MW of battery energy storage (BESS) and 42.5 MW of high-efficiency gas generation.

The four systems, located at Westgold’s Tuckabianna, Bluebird, Fortnum and Big Bell facilities, were delivered concurrently and in parallel with Westgold’s operational expansion projects at all four sites. They replace six diesel-fired plants and are expected to collectively displace 38 million litres of diesel every year and cut carbon emissions by up to 57,000 t annually.

The Tuckabianna system, which was fully commissioned in August 2023, achieved an average of 31% solar penetration between November 2023 and January 2024, peaking at 36.9% in December.

Westgold’s Managing Director and CEO, Wayne Bramwell, said powering Westgold’s operations with renewables was at the heart of its Clean Energy Transition project, which is set to improve the company’s environmental efficiencies and reduce operating costs.

“Moving towards renewables works for Westgold as a business because it drives costs out,” Bramwell said. “It also works for the environment because it significantly reduces carbon emissions and it sends a signal about our long-term view of building a sustainable busines.”

Pacific Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, Jamie Cullen, said: “This complex project showcases Pacific Energy’s commitment to delivering sustainable, cutting-edge solutions for our clients, even in the very challenging circumstances we encounter in remote locations.

“Pacific Energy and Westgold have worked side-by-side in the Mid West’s tough environment to deliver these systems safely, with zero lost time injuries. And by delivering the hybrid systems concurrently, we’ve been able to identify different response scenarios at each location and implement those learnings across the board to optimise system capabilities.”

Pacific Energy centred the design of the hybrid systems around its virtual generator (VG) BESS technology, which integrates renewable energy sources and dynamically stabilises the power systems, marking a shift away from thermal generation as the primary source of system stability.

An evolution of grid forming BESS technology, VG BESS can mimic the characteristics of rotating thermal generators, providing for the first time the ability to stabilise large-scale power systems without burning fuel or using legacy technologies like synchronous condensers, according to Pacific Energy.

The new hybrid systems also have emergency hydrocarbons-off functionality, which enables mining operations using solar and BESS during system outages and other critical situations, it added.

Cullen said: “We’re approaching our systems design with a future-focused mindset, so they can support the increasing sophistication of renewable energy technologies for years to come, and to ensure we’re delivering the decarbonisation outcomes our clients are looking for.”

Westgold’s Clean Energy Transition initiative accelerates with start up of first hybrid power station

10th August 2023Mine operation news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metalsBig Bell, Bluebird, Clean Energy Fuels Australia, Clean Energy Transition, Fortnum, hybrid power, Jamie Cullen, LNG, Pacific Energy, renewables, solar power, Tuckabianna, Wayne Bramwell, Westgold ResourcesDaniel Gleeson

The Tuckabianna hybrid power facility – the first of four new hybrid power stations being developed for Westgold Resources – has commenced operations, in Western Australia; a major milestone for the gold miner and its Clean Energy Transition initiative.

The four facilities – at Tuckabianna, Bluebird, Fortnum and Big Bell – are expected to provide substantial reductions in emissions and power costs across Westgold’s operations in the Murchison and Bryah regions of Western Australia, according to Pacific Energy, the provider of these solutions. The system will have a combined installed capacity of 82 MW, providing an expected annual reduction of 38 million litres in diesel fuel usage and approximately 57,000 t/y less CO2-equivalent emissions.

Westgold Chair, Cheryl Edwardes, and Managing Director, Wayne Bramwell, joined business partners, local officials and Traditional Owners on site to open the 17.9 MW facility this week.

The Tuckabianna facility includes a 6 MW solar farm fitted with 11,088 photovoltaic panels, a battery energy storage system with 2.4 MW installed capacity, and a 9.5 MW gas-fuelled power station.

The gas-fired power stations, battery storage and solar farms are owned and operated by Pacific Energy under an Electricity Purchase Agreement, and the LNG is provided by Clean Energy Fuels Australia (CEFA) under an LNG supply agreement. These agreements were signed last year.

These agreements will deliver substantial operating cost savings to Westgold in its 2023-2024 financial years onwards of around A$100/oz ($68/oz) at the then current diesel price and supports its commitment to environmental, social and governance initiatives that will reduce the company’s long term greenhouse gas emissions, it said.

Westgold’s Bramwell said: “Westgold continues to innovate to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and drive our operating costs down. This new hybrid power facility at Tuckabianna incorporates renewable energy and is a great first step along this journey, with power generated from these facilities energising our mines and processing hubs for decades to come. The successful commissioning of Tuckabianna is a testament to the tireless work of Westgold’s project and operational teams, business partners at Pacific Energy and CEFA and construction crews who have delivered our first power station safely and on schedule.”

Pacific Energy CEO, Jamie Cullen, said: “Congratulations to the Pacific Energy and Westgold project teams for delivering the Tuckabianna hybrid station – on time, and most importantly safely and incident free. Tuckabianna is part of a larger project to consolidate six existing power stations into four high efficiency hybrid power stations that incorporate gas, solar and battery storage systems. Collectively this represents one of the largest fully integrated hybrid power systems in the Australian mining sector.

“As a valued client of Pacific Energy since 2015, we are delighted to join Westgold on its transition to a cleaner energy future.”

Zenith Energy, Liontown go big with proposed hybrid power plan at Kathleen Valley lithium project

12th September 2022Energy minerals, Mineral project development, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable miningbattery storage, Hamish Moffat, hybrid power, Kathleen Valley, Liontown Resources, Lithium, renewables, solar power, Tjiwarl Contracting Services, Tony Ottaviano, Western Australia, wind power, Zenith EnergyDaniel Gleeson

Zenith Energy and Liontown Resources have partnered on what they say is Australia’s largest off-grid renewable energy hybrid power station project.

The letter of award between the two companies covers a potential contract to build, own, and operate the hybrid power station in Australia at Liontown’s Kathleen Valley Project in Western Australia.

The award will see Zenith Energy construct a 95 MW hybrid power station at Kathleen Valley in the Goldfields-Esperance region, which includes 30 MW of wind capacity, 16 MWp fixed axis solar PV array and a 17 MW/19 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).

Kathleen Valley is one of the world’s largest and highest-grade hard-rock lithium deposits and, with an initial 2.5 Mt/y production capacity, is expected to supply circa-500,000 t/y of 6% lithium oxide concentrate, according to the company. With first production expected in June quarter of 2024, the deposit will also produce tantalum pentoxide.

Zenith Managing Director, Hamish Moffat, says the partnership will allow Zenith Energy to demonstrate its innovation, flexibility and expertise to deliver low-carbon emitting hybrid power solutions.

“Zenith Energy is proud to continue to play a lead role in the energy transition, and to provide like-minded partners with a glide path to net zero,” he said. “The project also further demonstrates Zenith Energy’s continued commitment to increasing the proportion of renewable generation in our portfolio.”

*Artist impressions of what the Kathleen Valley site will look like (and above)*

Moffat says the thermal components of the power station are designed to operate in ‘engine off’ mode at various times, delivering 100% renewable energy generation to Kathleen Valley.

“It’s an exciting opportunity to showcase our expertise, and the ability of renewables to deliver reliable, continuous supply, to power an entire mining operation,” he said. “It will once again raise the industry benchmark in renewable energy integration and demonstrates our commitment to power decarbonisation.”

Other unique aspects of the agreement include:

Largest off-grid hybrid power station in Australia: The hybrid power station is currently expected to have the largest off-grid renewable capacity of any mining project in the country, with 46 MW and 17 MW BESS; and
Renewable incentives: A combination of incentives to produce renewable power over thermal power together with a renewable energy guarantee will allow Liontown to meet and exceed its renewable energy factor target of 60% at startup and beyond.

Liontown Managing Director and CEO, Tony Ottaviano, says Liontown is delighted to partner with such an experienced and highly competent power producer.

“We believe Zenith Energy is an ideal partner to delivery an industry leading hybrid power station to meet Liontown’s energy needs and requirements for a high-capacity renewable solution,” Ottaviano said. “The hybrid power station proposed will enable Liontown to exceed our target of achieving at least 60% renewable energy at project start-up and beyond.”

Moffat says Zenith Energy is engaged with Traditional Owners, recently announcing a collaboration with Tjiwarl Contracting Services to work together to deliver low carbon emission power solutions for miners and communities on Tjiwarl native title determined lands.

Zenith Energy and Liontown have agreed key commercial terms and are working to finalise arrangements under a binding long term build, own and operate power purchase agreement.

Iluka taps into hybrid power at Jacinth-Ambrosia after KPS project completion

22nd December 2021Energy minerals, Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mininghybrid power, Jacinth-Ambrosia, Jamie Cullen, juwi, KPS Power Generation, Pacific Energy, PV, Shane Tilka, solar, solar power, South AustraliaDaniel Gleeson

Pacific Energy says its subsidiary, KPS Power Generation, has completed the conversion of Iluka Resources’ 10 MW diesel power station at the Jacinth-Ambrosia mineral sands mine in South Australia to a hybrid power facility.

The “world first” hybrid power station incorporates both solar photovoltaics and electric turbo compounding (ETC) technology, combined with an upgraded control system, Pacific Energy said. ETC technology allows generators to maintain the same power output using less fuel and producing lower CO2 emissions, making generators work more cleanly and effectively by recovering waste energy.

The reduction in diesel consumption and improvement in fuel efficiency is expected to save over 2 million litres of diesel and over 5,500 t/y of CO2 at the operation, according to Pacific Energy.

KPS has operated the 10 MW diesel power station at the Jacinth-Ambrosia site since 2009. Under the new contract, which runs for an initial term of seven years, KPS will:

Install 3.5 MW of solar power generation;
Integrate the solar array with the diesel power station; and
Introduce ETC technology to each of the 10 1 MW generators.

juwi Renewable Energy Pty Ltd, the Brisbane-based subsidiary of juwi AG, constructed the medium penetration solar/diesel hybrid power solution for Jacinth-Ambrosia, with KPS owning and operating the hybrid project. It is expected to deliver almost 21% of the mine site’s annual electricity needs.

Shane Tilka, General Manager, Australian Operations at Iluka, said: “The move from diesel to hybrid energy at Jacinth-Ambrosia marks an important evolution in Iluka’s Australian operations. It also offers a potential blueprint for the future use of renewable energy at the company’s other existing and planned operations.”

Pacific Energy Group CEO, Jamie Cullen, said: “We are thrilled to work alongside Iluka, a valued long-term client to deliver a world-class, world-first solar PV and ETC hybrid power facility, and to assist them with reducing carbon emissions and transitioning to net-zero emissions.”

RPMGlobal gets pragmatic with mining ESG projections

17th September 2021Energy minerals, Environmental, Mining industry recognition, Mining mergers and acquisitions, Mining services, Mining software, Power supply for mines, Sustainable mining, Water managementAll-electric, due dilligence, emission budgeting, environmental approvals, environmental audits, environmental social and governance services, Equator Principles, ESG, GHG emissions, HAULSIM, hybrid power, IFC, legislation, M&A, mine rehabilitation and closure, mining software, Ngaire Tranter, Nitro Solutions, regulations, RPMGlobal, Scope 1, Scope 2, Scope 3, SIMULATE, Sustainability Policies and Standards, tailings, XERAS EnterpriseDaniel Gleeson

RPMGlobal believes it has the specialists to make the type of environmental, social and governance (ESG) projections the mining industry is after, having recently acquired Nitro Solutions and established a dedicated division for this market area.

This transaction has provided RPMGlobal with a differentiated offering in the ESG consulting space, according to Ngaire Tranter, Founder of Nitro Solutions and now Head of RPMGlobal’s ESG division.

“Where Nitro and now RPMGlobal is different, is: ‘we are mining’,” she told IM. “We’re mining specialists that happen to do ESG, not the other way round.

“Our team is preferentially selected from people that have been on mine sites. We draw on this expertise to ensure any advice we provide is pragmatic.”

Tranter, a fourth-generation miner, is keen to get this point across given the ESG focus that has swept through the sector in the past few years.

*Ngaire Tranter, Founder of Nitro Solutions and now Head of RPMGlobal’s ESG division*

This has seen miners – big and small – announce ambitious sustainability goals involving Scope 1, 2 and (possibly) 3 emissions; majors pledge to become more transparent in the way they deal with stakeholders; and companies ensure that social value is created for employees, contractors and affected communities at all stages of the mining process.

The pool of consultants claiming to have the expertise to advise companies on the correct strategies to achieve such goals in this brave new ESG-focused mining world has expanded significantly.

This ESG demand trend led to RPMGlobal’s June acquisition of Nitro, but Tranter says her team – which offers a range of services from environmental approvals, audits, economics, policy and legislation advice to compliance reporting and impact assessments – is one of the few on the market offering tailored and practical mining advice that appreciates the reality of mining.

“We offer holistic services,” she said. “We work with that technology piece and use it in an advisory context to get the correct feedback for clients,” she said. “The ability to leverage off that deep domain mining expertise really makes that technology practical and purpose designed to deliver solutions.

“We’re problem solving with our own in-house mining expertise.”

That problem solving piece has become a lot easier for the former Nitro team after joining RPMGlobal, with Tranter saying there is a “fantastic” technology foundation for the company’s ESG division to leverage off.

What started with the recent addition of electric vehicle support for its HAULSIM and SIMULATE haulage simulation platforms – to allow trade-offs between diesel, hybrid or all-electric haulage scenarios – is set to expand further through organic developments and possibly M&A.

The financial budgeting tools of XERAS Enterprise, for instance, could be used for future emission budgeting, according to Tranter, while some of the pit simulation tools RPMGlobal offers could come into the mine rehabilitation and closure part of the ESG equation.

It is this latter area that Tranter believes will grow in significance and demand in future years – an area RPMGlobal is adequately qualified to advise on.

“That rehab and closure piece is going to grow further and further, and that will be brought into the discussion much earlier in the process,” she said. “Fortunately, our models look a lot further out than what is happening next quarter or even what might be happening in 20 years’ time. For things like groundwater models, we are looking to when these levels may reach a quasi-equilibrium. This involves looking out plus-900 years in some cases.”

*An open-pit coal mine partially restored in the province of Leon, northwest Spain (credit: RPMGlobal)*

Not only is RPMGlobal equipped with the tools and models to take a long-term view that can be trusted by mining customers, it is also able to present the results in a way that everyone can understand, according to Tranter.

“Miners inherently want to do the right thing, even if the perception in certain quarters does not align with this fact,” she said. “We are able to convey ESG considerations effectively to these companies by putting them in financial metrics everyone can understand.

“We provide a financial trade-off that allows companies to make an informed business decision about the decision to pursue or avoid a particular aspect of a project.”

This is increasingly important in a market where the legislation and regulations governing mining companies changes from region to region, as does the expectations of communities and stakeholders.

Doing the right thing by the law may not always be viewed as ‘the right thing’ by stakeholders.

“Back when I started over 15 years ago, ESG was just about doing the bare minimum to move the project forward,” Tranter said. “People now recognise the importance of corporate reputational risk and the implications of not doing the right thing.”

RPMGlobal’s ESG practice continues to use baselines such as the Equator Principles and the International Finance Corp’s Sustainability Policies and Standards to provide the required transparency miners need to do business in major markets and to access capital, but the company is aware and conscious that the sector is continuing to evolve.

“In Australia, for example, a company is currently going through the court system for its ‘net zero’ claims’,” Tranter said. “The way the world has shifted in terms of transparency means there are great examples all over the world for us to advise our clients on.”

It isn’t all ‘defensive’ ESG work in RPMGlobal’s wheelhouse, with the company often providing ESG input for due diligence work related to M&A as well as lenders engineering services for mining and downstream mineral processing projects.

“ESG is a significant piece in the due diligence phase of M&A,” Tranter said. “It’s often about a company’s appetite for risk. A smaller entity, for instance, might have a greater appetite for risk based on an established reputation they think can be used to approach the same asset in a different way.”

Such a reputation could be used to tackle tailings projects that come with legacy ESG issues – assets that will most likely get a second look in the future when commodities such as copper, nickel, etc become scarcer.

“In Australia, there are some fantastic opportunities where companies could gain revenue and value by picking up those legacy assets and remedying some of those ESG issues,” Tranter said. “As long as people understand the risks associated with what they are buying, then it is fair game.

“We at RPMGlobal are there to convey those risks clearly to the industry.”

Red 5 taps Zenith Energy for hybrid power options at King of the Hills gold project

30th March 2021Environmental, Mineral project development, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metalsbattery storage, gas, gold, Goldfields Gas Pipeline, hybrid power, King of the Hills, KOTH, Mark Williams, mine power, Red 5 Ltd, solar power, Western Australia, Zenith EnergyDaniel Gleeson

Red 5 Ltd has entered into a Power Purchase Agreement with a subsidiary of Zenith Energy Ltd that will see the growing Australia-based power producer build, own and operate approximately 30 MW of hybrid power generation capacity to service the needs of the King of the Hills (KOTH) project in Western Australia.

The power inputs as part of the BOO agreement comprise high efficiency reciprocating gas fuel power generation together with a 2 MW photovoltaic solar farm (an example from Zenith’s other work shown above) and a battery energy storage system.

Power supply to the site is planned to commence in the March quarter of 2022 with an initial term of 10 years. The contract includes provision for a potential future upgrade to the power station to support increased plant throughput beyond the initial planned 4 Mt/y run rate, Red 5 says.

Gas will be supplied from the Goldfields Gas Pipeline, 12 km west of the mine, under separate contracts, the company clarified.

Red 5 Managing Director, Mark Williams, said the award of the agreement marked another important construction milestone for the King of the Hills project while, at the same time, helping to achieve one of the company’s environmental, social and governance commitments to reduce the carbon footprint of the project.

“We are pleased to have signed the Power Purchase Agreement with Zenith, an experienced power producer which provided us with a compelling hybrid thermal and sustainable power solution that includes renewable energy,” he said. “Zenith’s combination of a gas and solar power station, supported by a battery energy storage system, provides the efficiency and stability required for the processing plant and infrastructure to enable King of the Hills to be a long-life, low-cost gold producer.”

The KOTH project is an open pit and underground gold deposit with a projected mine life of over 16 years. This could see the company produce 176,000 oz/y of gold over the first six years, according to a recent feasibility study.

KPS to leverage ETC tech in hybrid power conversion at Iluka’s Jacinth Ambrosia mine

16th March 2021Industrial minerals, Mine operation news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Sustainable miningdiesel power, electric turbo compounding technology, hybrid power, Iluka Resources, Jacinth-Ambrosia, Jamie Cullen, KPS, mineral sands, Pacific Energy, solar powerDaniel Gleeson

Pacific Energy Ltd’s wholly owned KPS subsidiary has signed a contract to convert its 10 MW diesel power station at Iluka Resources’ Jacinth Ambrosia mineral sands mine in South Australia to a hybrid facility.

The facility will incorporate electric turbo compounding (ETC) technology, which, the company says, allows generators to maintain the same power output using less fuel and producing lower CO2 emissions.

The conversion and upgrade will have a meaningful impact on lowering emissions and fuel costs for Iluka, Pacific Energy claims.

KPS has operated the 10 MW diesel power station at the Jacinth Ambrosia site since 2009. Under the new contract, which runs for an initial term of seven years, KPS will:

Install 3.5 MW of solar power generation;
Integrate the solar array with the diesel power station; and
Introduce ETC technology to each of the 10 1 MW generators.

ETC technology makes generators work more cleanly and effectively by recovering waste energy from the exhaust to improve power density and fuel efficiency, the company explained.

Juwi Renewable Energy Pty Ltd, the Brisbane-based subsidiary of juwi AG, is to construct the medium penetration solar/diesel hybrid power solution for Jacinth Ambrosia, with KPS owning and operating the hybrid project. After completion, it is expected to deliver almost 21% of the mine site’s annual electricity needs.

Pacific Energy Chief Executive, Jamie Cullen, said: “This is an exciting development for both Pacific Energy and Iluka Resources in what we believe is a world first – integrating solar and ETC technology with an existing fossil fuel facility. The reduction in diesel consumption and improvement in fuel efficiency is expected to save over 2 million litres of diesel and over 5,500 tonnes of CO2 per year, every year, for at least the next seven years.”

Aggreko to energise Gold Fields’ Salares Norte mine with hybrid power solution

20th January 2021Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable miningAggreko, Aggreko Solar Power, carbon emissions, diesel generation, gold, Gold Fields, hybrid power, Pablo Varela, Salares Norte, solar powerDaniel Gleeson

Aggreko, a leading provider of mobile and modular power solutions, has signed a contract with Gold Fields to provide a 25.9 MW hybrid solar and thermal power solution to the Salares Norte open-pit mine in Chile.

This “ground-breaking solution” has been designed to provide power for the entire mine, which sits at an altitude of 4,500 m in the Andes mountain range and is 190 km from the nearest town, Aggreko says.

The hybrid system will comprise both tailormade high-altitude performance diesel gensets and Aggreko Solar Power units, optimised for off-grid applications and ready to meet the extreme wind conditions these units will experience.

The gensets will each deliver 772 kW (for 16 MW of power in total) and will incorporate spinning reserve and cold reserve units to efficiently manage peaks in demand, the company says. This diesel generation system will be integrated with solar units, which, once installed, will provide 9.9 MW of emission-free power.

“The system will deliver a reliable, modular power supply across all five of the mine’s distribution points, whilst surpassing the Chilean government’s environmental standards as well as Gold Fields’ requirement for a minimum of 20% renewable power generation for mining operations,” Aggreko said.

Once complete, it will achieve $7.4 million in cost of energy savings over the next decade and a further $1.1 million in carbon tax offset over the Aggreko project lifetime in addition to 104,000 t of carbon emissions savings, Aggreko estimates.

“The modular rental solution also supports a consolidated capital expenditure outlay, allowing for greater cost control and variable commitments whilst ensuring continued operational excellence at the mine,” it added.

The deployment of this hybrid solution follows Aggreko’s recent launch of Aggreko Solar Power, which will be deployed to provide power at the site. This solution is designed for weak or off-grid energy applications, providing clean and efficient power supply to a range of operations without long-term financial commitments.

Pablo Varela, Latin America Managing Director from Aggreko, said: “As the energy transition continues to gather pace, our customers are increasingly looking for more flexible power solutions which can reliably support operations whilst reducing carbon emissions and lowering costs.

“Hybrid products, such as the one we are deploying for Salares Norte, enable a reliable and flexible power supply whilst reducing carbon emissions, thanks to the incorporation of Aggreko Solar Power units as part of the system. Having a standardised product such as this provides the kind of consistency and reliability which our customers have come to expect from us.”

The 10-year contract between Aggreko and Gold Fields for power generation at the mine represents the strong working relationship between the companies, reinforced with the recent installation of one of the world’s largest renewable microgrids at Gold Fields’ Granny Smith mine in Western Australia.

First production from the mine is set for early 2023, with Salares Norte having an 11.5-year life of mine with a production average of 450,000 oz/y for the first seven years of operations.

Optimising energy management at B2Gold’s Fekola mine

18th January 2021Environmental, Mine operation news, Mining services, Power supply for mines, Precious metals, Sustainable miningAfrica, B2Gold, Fekola, gems, gold, hybrid power, Luke Witmer, Mali, mine power, solar power, WärtsiläDaniel Gleeson

The delivery of a cutting-edge 17 MW/15 MWh energy storage platform and Wärtsilä’s advanced GEMS system is optimising energy management at B2Gold’s Fekola gold in Mali, Luke Witmer* writes.

Since B2Gold first acquired the Fekola gold mine, located in a remote corner of southwest Mali, exploration studies revealed the deposits to be almost double the initial estimates.

A recent site expansion has just been completed, and while the existing power units provide enough power to support the increase in production, the company sought to reduce its energy costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and increase power reliability.

The addition of a 35 MWp solar photovoltaic (PV) plant and 17 MW/15 MWh of energy storage to the existing 64 MW thermal engine plant was decided. This new energy mix is anticipated to save over 13 million litres of fuel, reduce carbon emissions by 39,000 t/y, and generate a payback in just over four years.

Such an elaborate hybrid configuration needs a powerful brain to deliver on all its potential: Wärtsilä’s GEMS, an advanced energy management system, has been set up to control the energy across the fleet of power sources, thermal, renewable, and battery storage. The integration, control, and optimisation capabilities provided by GEMS allow the thermal units to be run at the most efficient rate and enable the battery storage to handle the large load step changes and volatility of the solar PV generation assets.

Integrated hybrid energy solution

In the context of the Fekola mine, which is an off-grid electrical island, the battery is performing a lot of different services simultaneously, including frequency response, voltage support, shifting solar energy, and providing spinning reserves. The energy load is very flat, with a steady consumption rate around 40 MW as the mining equipment is operating consistently, 24/7. However, if an engine trips offline and fails, the battery serves as an emergency backstop. The controls reserve enough battery energy capacity to fill the power gap for the time it takes to get another engine started, and the software inside each inverter enables the battery to respond instantaneously to any frequency deviation.

The reciprocating engines operate most efficiently at 85-90% of their capacity: this is their ‘sweet spot’. But if there is a sudden spike in demand, if a little more power is needed, or if mining equipment is coming online, then another engine needs to be run to meet the extra load.

With the battery providing spinning reserves, the engines can be kept running at their sweet spot, reducing the overall cost per kilowatt hour. Moreover, with the solar plant providing power during the day, three to four engines can be shut down over this period, providing a quiet time to carry out preventive maintenance. This really helps the maintenance cycle, ensuring that the engines operate in a more efficient manner.

Solar PV volatility can be intense. On a bright day with puffy clouds passing by, a solar farm of this size can easily see ramps of 25 MW over a couple of minutes. This requires intelligent controls, dynamically checking the amount of solar that can be let into the grid without causing an issue for the engine loadings or without overloading the battery.

Conducting the orchestra

The GEMS intelligent software provides the optimisation layer that controls all the power sources to ensure that they work together in harmony. The user interface (UI) gives access to all the data and presents it in a user-friendly way. Accessible remotely, all operations are simulated on a digital twin in the cloud to verify the system controls and simulate the most efficient operating scenarios to lower the cost of energy.

This is an important software feature, both during and after commissioning as it allows operators to train on the platform ahead of time and familiarise themselves with the automated controls and dynamic curtailment of renewables. The UI provides the forecast for renewables and the battery charge status at any given moment, it can provide push email or phone notifications for alerts; telling operators when to turn off an engine and when to turn it back on.

The software is constantly analysing the data and running the math to solve the economic dispatch requirements and unit commitment constraints to ensure grid reliability and high engine efficiency. Load forecasting integrates the different trends and patterns that are detectable in historic data as well as satellite based solar forecasting to provide a holistic approach to dispatching power. The Fekola site has a sky imager, or cloud tracking camera with a fisheye lens, that provides solar forecasts for the next half hour in high temporal resolution.

To ensure that operators really understand the platform, and have visibility over the advanced controls, the UI provides probability distributions of the solar forecast. Tracking the forecast errors enables operators to see whether the solar is overproducing or underproducing what the forecast was expecting at the time and provides visibility to the operators on the key performance indicators. This feedback is an important part of the machine/human interface and provides operators with insight if an engine is required to be turned on at short notice.

Automated curtailment enables the optimisation of the system providing a reactivity that people cannot match. By continually monitoring the engine loadings and battery, the system is ready to clamp down on solar if it gets too volatile or exceeds some spinning reserve requirement. For example, if a large, unexpected cloud arrives, the battery is dispatched to fill the gap while the engines ramp up. Once the cloud disappears, however, the engines remain committed to operating for a few hours, and the solar power is transferred to recharge the battery.

Over time, as load patterns shift, the load forecasting algorithm will also be dynamically updating to match the changing realities of the load. As mining equipment hits layers of harder rock, increasing the power load, the system will adjust and dispatch the engines accordingly.

The new gold standard

The Fekola mine project incorporates the largest off-grid hybrid power solution in the world, demonstrating the growing case for clean energy and its sustainable and economic potential for mines in Africa and beyond.

As the cost of batteries and solar panels continues to become more competitive, hybrid solutions are proving to be a realistic and effective means for increasing energy reliability and lowering operating costs in any context, thus freeing up resources to improve the human condition; whether through cheaper materials and gainful employment, or by providing broader access to reliable electricity for healthcare, education, and improved quality of life.

*This piece was written by Luke Witmer, General Manager, Data Science, Wärtsilä Energy Storage and Optimization