At remote mines, renewables play a crucial role. And, this is visible in 2019, the year that experts claim is a turning point for the two fields. Besides, in this year more than 12 projects saw the light of the day. Additionally, heavy adoption of solar and wind power emerged. As a result, carbon footprint and energy costs are falling.
Moreover, successful runs with these companies show, that concerns regarding loss of production is baseless. Thus, one notes IPPs or Independent Power Producers pouring in investments towards the wind plants and solar fields. This, in turn, is set to provide electricity to the mines, basis PPA – Power Purchase Agreement.
A good thing about IPPs is that miners are comfortable with theses since diesel contracts are no different. However, these are less costly, adding to adoption rates positively. Also, it is noteworthy here that IPPs are already leading the electricity generation part. Here, note that in diesel models, 40% of energy from fuel turns into electricity. And, through waste heat recovery, 7% less diesel sees consumption.
Understanding Approach:
Basically, the approach looks a lot like steam turbine technology, only at a scale smaller. And, it is effective. Some of the models that prove it are industrial waste heat, biogas engine heat recovery, and geothermal heat.
Dr. Thomas Hillig, MD – THEnergy, states that the fruit is low hanging in waste heat recovery. Also, he mentions that the renewables are making the playfield more exciting by opening up new avenues. He states that the reason, here, is that it stands for accepting and owning capital-intensive solutions in mining.
The report with findings is – System Optimization of Renewable Energy Micro-grids with Heat-Recovery in Remote Mining. And, it successfully shows how recovery and renewable energy combines to give effective solutions, reducing need for diesel.
