Powering the Fekola gold mine in Mali
Hybrid energy solutions together with renewables are growing in popularity for remote mining operations for both cost and environmental considerations. The falling cost of energy storage is adding another option for such hybrid systems. One of the first facilities comprised of solar photovoltaic (PV) with attached battery storage has been deployed alongside the existing fuel oil engine by Wärtsilä Energy at the Fekola gold mine in southwest Mali.
This feature article was originally published in The Global Power & Energy Elites 2022
Mines are energy-intensive and fuel-dependent with high energy costs for all aspects of their business: from mining operations to the day-to-day living of their workforce and transportation.
As mines are often located in remote areas at the end of the grid or beyond, they are looking increasingly to the latest technologies to ensure a reliable supply at the lowest cost, with solar and battery storage offering a new level of opportunity over the diesel that many have previously adopted.
One such mine is the Fekola gold mine located in southwest Mali, approximately 500km west of the capital Bamako and close to the border with Senegal.
Hybrid Energy System
For a solution, the off-grid Fekola mine, owned by Canadian public gold producer B2Gold Corp., turned to Wärtsilä Energy, Suntrace and BayWa r.e. for a hybrid set-up. This set-up comprises a 30MW solar PV plant and a 17.3MW/15.4MWh energy storage system under the management of Wärtsilä’s GEMS Digital Energy Platform to operate in addition to the mine’s existing 64MW power generating plant.
The main objective of the Fekola hybrid project is to provide and maintain stability at the mine by dispatching energy storage and renewable energy generation assets with the right level of reserve.
At the same time, the hybrid approach enables the mine to reduce its dependence on imported heavy fuel oil and save on operational and transportation costs as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by approximately 39,000 tons per year.
The control and optimisation capabilities provided by GEMS are key to handling the instabilities and large load step changes of the solar assets. The platform uses artificial intelligence as well as automated and forecasted data, including load demand and weather, to optimally operate the system’s assets and maximise efficiency.
Overall, GEMS with its optimisation of the solar assets in tandem with traditional fuel-powered gensets is expected to deliver an average of 18% of the total power requirement for Fekola.
Read the full project feature here
