Antinuclear

Rio Tinto finds that solar is the best way to power Queensland off-grid mine

Rio Tinto to deploy 6.7MW solar PV + storage at off-grid mine
REneweconomy By Giles Parkinson on 22 May 2014 A ground-breaking, $23.4 million project to cut out daytime diesel consumption at Rio Tinto bauxite mine at Weipa could unlock billions of dollars of similar investments in the mining industry – which is weighed down by soaring energy costs.

Mining giant Rio Tinto is to host a $23.4 million solar PV plus storage facility at its Weipa bauxite mine, that is the first of its type and scale in the world and could unleash billions of dollars of similar investment. Rio Tinto Alcan – with the help of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency – is to install a 1.7MW solar PV array at its Weipa bauxite mine later this year, and then add a further 5MW of solar PV and battery storage.

The Weipa mine  is located on the Cape York Peninsula at the very northern tip of eastern Australia, and relies on expensive diesel that has to be shipped in.

The first phase of the solar project – to be built with First Solar thin-film modules and constructed by Australian solar firm Ingenero – is expected to reduce daytime diesel demand from the mine’s 26MW diesel generator by up to 20 per cent.

However, the addition of more solar and storage to balance out intermittency could reduce daytime diesel consumption altogether at certain times.

The Weipa project was the first of around 70 submissions  – worth several billion dollars of investment – from mining operators in Australia for funding for such ground breaking projects under ARENA’s $400 million remote energy program.

The ending of the commodities boom has made miners more focused on energy costs. Rio Tinto recently announced the closure of the Groote Eylandt mine in Northern Territory because it was being crushed by fuel costs. Solar and other technologies are now emerging as viable alternatives, even with the diesel excise exemption enjoyed by the mining industry. ARENA, which has been marked for closure by Tony Abbott’s ultra conservative government in Australia, is committing $10.3 million over the two phases of the project.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknect said it is critical as part of a “show and tell” exercise that will help make miners understand the technology, accept its reliability, and identify where further cost cuts are made. This will lead to reduced costs in future projects, and ultimately remove the need for any government support.

“We need a few of these projects to show how cost-effective they can be,” Frischknecht told RenewEconomy.

“Transporting fuel long distances for generators is dangerous and subject to variable weather conditions – it is a costly, unpredictable arrangement that doesn’t make good economic sense.

“However, miners need to be confident about the integration of such technology, EPC contractors need to learn about the difficulties of delivering modules in such remote locations, and (sub contractors) don’t know yet what they don’t know.

“I think this is just the tip of the iceberg … energy security is a big deal for miners. ARENA sees mining as a huge potential off-grid user of renewable energy in Australia and congratulates Rio Tinto Alcan for paving the way for other mining operations to adopt renewable energy and offset diesel use through this landmark demonstration project.”

Whether ARENA gets to spend more on its remote mining energy program may depend on support in the Senate, which could reject the repeal bill being prepared by the Abbott government (which had made a pre-election promise to retain ARENA)……..

areth Manderson, the general manager of operations at Rio Tinto Alcan’s Weipa mine, said the hybrid diesel/PV solution will introduce to the site “a reliable source of electricity, with low maintenance requirements.”

The first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed later this year, with phase two set for 2017. Rio Tinto Alcan will buy the electricity under a 15-year power purchase agreement.

A total of 18,000 modules will be mounted on steel and aluminium structures in the first phase, generating  2,620MWh of electricity each year for use in the mine and the processing plant. The specifications of the storage component have yet to be worked out. http://reneweconomy.com.au/2014/rio-tinto-to-deploy-6-7mw-solar-pv-storage-at-off-grid-mine-58009

May 23, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Queensland, solar