Commerce Resources Corp. has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with TUGLIQ Energy Co. (TUGLIQ) to complete a definitive assessment on the potential use of wind energy to satisfy part of the Ashram Rare Earth Project’s energy requirements. The preliminary evaluation of wind data TUGLIQ conducted in 2016 indicated favourable wind speeds for renewable power development, leading to the MOU for a more definitive assessment.
The Wind Energy Project will be comprised of three main components: Wind Resource Assessment, Electrical System Engineering, and an Integration Study, which will include an assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. The ultimate objective of the project will be to determine if the incorporation of wind power into the baseload diesel power supply at the mine site is cost-effective.
“We are excited to be collaborating with TUGLIQ, and to have the support of the Quebec Government on this renewable resource project,” Commerce President Chris Grove states. “We look forward to evaluating this potential in much further detail. The potential to incorporate cost-effective renewable energy into the Ashram Project only makes it that much more attractive for development.”
Wind power is now cost competitive for the mining sector, and applicable to remote environments far from the regional power grid. Should the Ashram Rare Earth Project integrate wind power, it will join two other wind-powered northern mining projects: the Diavik Mine in the NWT, which boasts a four-turbine wind farm that’s been in operation since 2012, and the Raglan Mine in Nunavik, which has a single 3 MW turbine with energy storage that was commissioned in 2014.
Read the full press release at Stockhouse.com.