Broken Hill is iconic of Australian mining, and so important to the country’s mining history that it was added to the National Heritage List in 2015. At its zenith, roughly 30,000 people called Broken Hill home, 3,500 of whom worked in mining. As the town’s resources dwindled, so did its population. Today, there are only 18,000 Read More
A former mountaintop removal site in Pike County, Kentucky being studied for what could be the state's largest solar farm. (Photo: Berkeley Energy Group) An eastern Kentucky coal company is spearheading what may be the largest solar farm project in Appalachia. The array will be built on a reclaimed strip mining site near Pikeville, bringing more Read More
Photo: Marc McCormack, via Genex Power Sydney-based Genex Power will transform the abandoned Kidston Gold Mine in Northern Queensland into a clean energy powerhouse combining solar and storage. The site will host a 50 MW solar project (KSP1), a 250 MW pumped-storage hydro project (KPSHP), and another 270 MW solar project (KSP2). Kidston’s former status as Read More
Credit: Shooter's Bottom wind turbine at dusk (Sharon Loxton) / CC BY-SA 2.0 Major players in global mining are beginning to acknowledge that environmental sustainability is key to business sustainability, and lead the industry toward a low-carbon future. London-based Rio Tinto, for example, outlines 10 ways it’s pushing forward on this front. These include: Signing the Paris Pledge for Read More
A massive new hybrid fuel project is coming to West Africa. Toronto-based gold producer Iamgold has plans to integrate a new solar plant with its existing 57 MW thermal power plant. When finished, Iamgold may boast the largest hybrid fuel project in the world. This won’t be the company’s first renewable energy project; Iamgold built a Read More
Large-scale commercial solar is beginning to make headway in Australia. Zinc metals producer Sun Metals has announced it will build a 100MW solar PV plant to support its refinery located near Townsville, northern Queensland. The project already marks the largest commitment to renewable energy by a major Australian company, and it may increase in size to Read More
Steve Burke and Jim Besha of Albany Engineering Corp. stand at the site of an abandoned iron mine in the Adirondacks, in Mineville, NY. Credit: CBS News. A long-defunct iron mine in Mineville, NY may be the key to storing the area’s solar and wind energy. Renewable energy producers need ways to ensure an uninterrupted flow Read More
Renewable energy sources have been slow to penetrate the mining sector, largely because they’re capital-intensive and stationary. But that may be beginning to change. Flexibility is important in the industry. A mine can be shut down if commodity prices fall. The company that owns it can then easily relocate fossil fuel-based generators. In contrast, Solar PV infrastructure Read More
Global wind energy developer, Gamesa, is testing its new off-grid system that combines traditional gensets with wind, solar and storage. The hybrid prototype is reported to benefit off-grid communities and remote mining operations the most. Gamesa estimates that traditional off-grid diesel costs will be slashed by 40% once the new system is introduced. The prototype began Read More
Doña Inés de Collahuasi is the world’s second largest copper mine. The mine is located at an altitude of 4,000 to 4,800m and is located approximately 200 km from sea. In 2011-12 the mine released another tender for Solar PV with a PPA for 60 GWh/year which was won by the Spanish developer SolarPack who developed the 23.5 MWac Almonte Solar plant. Read More
