LESSONS LEARNED FROM RECENT HYBRID PROJECTS FOR MINES

LESSONS LEARNED FROM RECENT HYBRID PROJECTS FOR MINES

Reinhardt Labuschagne, Head of Mining at Aggreko APAC, discusses the challenges that are yet to be overcome and shares insights gained from the company’s more recent hybrid projects.

ENERGY + MINES: What are the biggest challenges mining companies are facing in trying to transition to renewable energy?

REINHARDT LABUSCHAGNE: Mines are facing a lot of uncertainty, with ever-changing technology and internal questions around whether the investment will meet the target decarbonisation goals.

Cost of ownership and life cycle reliability will also potentially play an important role in the decision, and due to the low maturity of the technology, the financial impact increases the risk of a project. At Aggreko we engineer and deliver projects that can help mitigate these risks and reduce the challenges faced by mines globally to transition to renewable energy.

EM: Can you share some key takeaways from Aggreko’s recent hybrid projects for mines, perhaps in terms of peak shaving and energy management?

RL: Aggreko has developed and implemented many hybrid projects for miners such as Resolute Mining, Gold Fields and more recently Rio Tinto in Queensland. From conducting these projects, we know that batteries and energy storage technologies in general are a great method to supplement the gap in baseload challenges.

This is especially true on power plants where medium speed or gas turbines are used and demand and peak management requires quick response without maintaining higher spinning reserve. Coupled with a well-engineered hybrid or solar system, energy storage systems can help miners benefit from consistent reliable power with significant savings in daytime fuel costs.

EM: What are some of the remaining limitations of battery energy storage, and how are they being overcome?

RL: Some of the limitations preventing the widespread adoption of battery energy storage include a high levelized cost of energy (LCoE), limited life cycle/period, high Capex, as well as the fact that batteries are application-specific and present limited scope in terms of their operating environment, being vulnerable to high altitude, dust or heat for example. As a result, their uptake is still limited and confined to early adopters.

The good news is, we believe the technology will continue to improve and performance and price will stabilize thanks to the effect of economies of scale over time, making batteries much more affordable for many more use cases.

EM: How can the mining industry get to the next steps for decarbonising power?

RL: The best way to take your decarbonisation efforts to the next level is to partner with seasoned and forward-thinking partners like Aggreko that have the balance sheet, capacity and capability to successfully include all the transitioning elements in one contract for our clients.

EM: What is the best decarbonisation shift for a remote mine: better batteries or mining differently?

RL: Mining differently with a focus on efficiency will be the first step for a remote mine, but the transition will also depend on the base load power generation. Aggreko can offer all these different configurations with tried and tested equipment and minimal capital investment. In fact, in recent years we have supported remote mines to achieve a renewable energy factor above 35% or more.

EM: What are the next technological changes that will make energy decarbonisation achievable?

RL: I think the technology that will make the biggest difference in the short term is engineered and well-configured microgrids. And in the long term, I hope to see greater availability of greener fuel, as we are lagging in alternative baseload generation options and this is slowing down decarbonisation.

In the meantime, some of our customers are choosing to integrate Aggreko’s gas power generation plants to provide decarbonisation gains with quicker returns, resulting in a major positive impact on their ESG ambitions and strategies.