Credit: PolymetalPolymetal, Russia’s leading precious metals mining group, has partnered with Russian solar modules manufacturer and PV project developer, Hevel Group, to construct a 1 Megawatt (MW) solar power project, designed to supply electricity to their mining facility in the Khabarovsk region (Russia’s Far East). The project’s aim is to decrease the off-grid mine’s reliance on diesel power generation and reduce fuel consumption.
The Khabarovsk region has a high solar resource, so the solar power plant is expected to generate 1.2 GWh annually, reducing the amount of desiel fuel needed to power the mine site by 250 tons. Due to the arctic conditions of the Khabarovsk region, the PV modules will be required operate in extremely low temperatures. In March 2018 Hevel announced that its R&D centre had undertaken tests that proved the reliability and stability of their solar modules at temperatures below -40 degrees Celcius. You can read the full story HERE.