Power magnate Adani will diversify its Australian holdings by building a $100 million solar farm in the heart of the nation’s coal country. While Adani’s operations in Australia have so far been limited to coal mining — its proposed Carmichael Coal Mine in central Queensland would be Australia’s largest, if approved — work on the array Read More
Bangkok at night by http://pcwallart.com/bangkok-night-view-wallpaper-4.html [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Thai coal giant Banpu is taking solar by the horns with a new downstream unit dubbed Banpu Infinergy, a “one-stop provider of total solar energy solutions” providing consultation, system design, installation, and maintenance services. The subsidiary will partner with industrial and private customers, including factories, Read More
Streamlining PPAs for hybrid microgrids may hasten their adoption, according to a new study from Munich-based consultancy THEnergy. While hybrid-diesel systems have become popular in remote areas and industrial settings, the contracts for hybrid systems are much more complex than for standard, renewable-only PPAs. The report lauds the mining sector as an industry pioneer in integrating Read More
A rendering of SolarReserve's 390 MW Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) Likana Solar Project. Credit: SolarReserve. Chile is charging full speed ahead with advanced solar energy. The Chilean government recently granted environmental approval for the Likana Solar Energy Project, a new solar power station slated for the Antofagasta region of Chile. The Likana project will provide 390 Read More
Leading garnet producer GMA Garnet has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Advanced Energy Resources (AER), the partners announced at the Energy and Mines Australia Summit in Perth on Friday. The arrangement will see the construction of a 3 megawatt wind and solar farm with battery storage near the picturesque pink lakes of Port Read More
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG7YQ76KHmU Video: SunMine: How solar is transforming an old mining town. Contaminated mining sites could be reborn as solar fields in the near future. A new solar project at the Sullivan mine site near Kimberley in southeast British Columbia is attempting to do just that. Rather than leaving the reclaimed yet tainted site vacant, energy company Read More
A qualitative and quantitative report on energy risk exposure in the Australian mining sector and the potential for renewables. The report explores energy use in the Australian mining sector and the current energy mix; the risks associated with the business as usual approach to powering mines; the potential and current limitations of renewables for Australian mines. Read More
Atacama Desert, Chile. Photo credit: ogwen [CC BY 2.0]. The world’s first 24/7 emissions-free "plug-and-play" commercial microgrid is now operational, according to a news release from Enel Green Power Chile. The system integrates 125kWp (kilowatt-peak) of solar power generation with 580 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of lithium-ion battery storage (132-kWh) and hydrogen energy storage (450-kWh) to supply part Read More
Photo by First Quantum Minerals (FQM) (FQM Image Library) [Public domain, GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia Commons. Construction has begun on Queensland’s largest industrial solar project, which will see 1.3 million solar panels installed at the Sun Metals zinc refinery in North Queensland. When completed, the new power station will generate 125 megawatt of Read More
Essakane Mine pit in Burkina Faso. Photo by Iamgold [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons. 2017 may be the year microgrids gain a solid foothold. Rising diesel prices paired with a handful of test projects in remote locations and island communities have demonstrated their power and feasibility. Microgrid successes have caught the attention of miners working Read More
