B2Gold, will set up one of the largest off-grid hybrid solar/heavy fuel oil (HFO) plants in the world at its Fekola gold mine in Mali, West Africa.
Studies of the project have indicated solid viability at 30MW solar generating capacity with significant battery storage included. It will entail a capital cost of about $38 million and is likely to be completed in August 2020.
The solar facility will reduce operating costs by 7%, given that three HFO generators would be shut down during daylight hours, saving about 13.1 million liters of HFO annually. The project has a payback of four years.
If successfully implemented, the Fekola project would be the second feather in B2Gold’s solar cap.
It would follow on its 24MW solar/HFO hybrid plant at the Otjikoto gold mine in Namibia. Opened in 2018 and one of the first of its kind in the world, the plant duly achieved the targeted generation and savings in HFO consumption.
Read more about B2Gold HERE.
Feature Image Source: B2Gold Website