ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
Greg Blandford is a director: Energy & E-Mobility at Rubicon
Sufficient, consistent power supply lies at the heart of a successful mining operation. Power cuts and increases in electricity costs have led mining companies to explore alternative energy sources. Dineo Phoshoko speaks to Greg Blandford, director: Energy & E-Mobility, Rubicon, on his views about alternative energy in the mining industry.
How possible is it for mines to go completely off the grid and continue to operate efficiently? GB It is possible, in theory, but there are numerous challenges in going completely off-grid, including the cost hurdle. A full off-grid system for a mine may employ complementary renewable technologies such as partsolar, part-wind energy, along with a substantial energy storage system. It is possible but the costs to implement can sometimes be prohibitive. What would be some of the challenges associated with relying on alternative energy sources for mine operations? Mines typically operate 24/7 and rely on constant power supply for operations, which include essential services such as air supply down mine shafts for miners, lighting and running heavy mining machinery. In many cases, mine operations generate dust that, once airborne, settles on solar panels and reduces their efficiency. If a solar installation experiences prolonged cloudy or rainy days, electricity production can be negatively affected. These are the main issues that impact on the reliability of solar installations, among others. What would be the best way to get around those challenges? In the above-mentioned case, regular cleaning to ensure good energy production and other regular maintenance would mitigate most of the issues.
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In addition to providing electricity for the mine, would alternative energy have the capacity to provide electricity to mines’ host communities? Yes, if the scale of the project allows for extra power generation, then communities surrounding the mine could benefit from the additional capacity. What role do you see alternative energy playing in South Africa, beyond mining? Renewables will form a large part of our energy mix in years to come. As we see more integration of energy technologies including energy storage, solar, wind, e-mobility and other forms of renewables. We can already see a huge demand for residential solar paired with energy storage products with some form of monitoring, which give end users control and insights of their energy usage. The e-mobility wave is coming, and we need to prepare for this and include large-scale renewable energy projects in our utility power mix. Is the current infrastructure available in the country enough to support and maintain alternative energy in South Africa? Yes and no. Our infrastructure is poor due to a lack of maintenance and large-scale corruption within our state utility. We do need to build additional infrastructure along with the increased capacity and have a good, maintained network that will lead to a sustainable energy network for all.
