A WA mining company is planning to establish the first mine site in Australia completely powered by solar and wind power, in the next three years.
Galaxy Resources mines lithium at Mt Cattlin near Ravensthorpe, 540 kilometers south-east of Perth.
Currently 10 to 15 per cent of its total power usage at the site comes from renewable energy sources.
It uses solar tracking panels, developed by Swan Energy, which follow the sun throughout the day, providing 15 per cent more power than conventional systems.
It saves the company around 200 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Galaxy’s managing director Iggy Tan says to move to 100 per cent use of renewable energy, the company will take advantage of the Mt Cattlin location which is favoured by strong and consistent winds.
He says they plan on installing three wind turbines with a 1.2 megawatt capacity each and a solar power system with a capacity of one megawatt to power the site.
Galaxy is not the only company considering the use of renewables.
Re-evaluating
The Federal Government’s proposed carbon tax is forcing many mining companies to re-evaluate their future energy use.
The majority of mining operations in Western Australia are powered by diesel, a significant carbon emitter, with some of the larger operations being powered by gas, which is less carbon intensive.
Up until now, the use of renewable energies like solar and wind power have been seen as unviable due to an inconsistent power supply and the large outlay costs involved with implementing the system.
WA’s Swan Energy, which developed the solar tracking panels used by Galaxy, is hoping to change this.
Its managing director James Rhee says the education and public sector accounts for the majority of the company’s clients but in the future, he expects the resources sector to be its primary market.
Mr Rhee says the resources sector showed minimal interest in renewable energies when he began his business four years ago but the proposed carbon tax has changed that.
“Before the carbon tax discussions, we had about one call per month but now we have about five calls per day, from right around Australia,” he said.
“I believe once the carbon tax is introduced the industry will re-focus on renewable energy delivery and many people will move towards solar and wind power.”
“At the moment a renewable energy system is far more expensive than diesel or gas power but once a carbon tax is implemented, it makes it quite comparable.”
Galaxy Resources estimates a shift to renewable energies would have a capital cost in the region of $25 to $30 million.
It is an investment the company is looking to source externally.
Mr Tan says the investor would fund the energy system and then sell the power to Galaxy and potentially to the nearby town of Ravensthorpe.
“I think up-front there is always a larger capital cost for these sorts of systems,” he said.
He says Galaxy is currently in discussions with a number of potential investors who have shown interest.
The company is anticipating the costs would be recovered within seven years.
Mr Rhee says with a carbon tax, renewable energies become more attractive.
“Renewable energy will make commercial sense and resources companies will want an economic solution,” he said.
Mr Tan agrees.
“I think companies are being pro-active about being sustainable and where they can are reducing their carbon footprint, but obviously the prospect of a carbon tax is one of the important parameters to consider,” he said.
He says Galaxy’s work has sparked interest from other mining companies.
“Since we have had our facilities, there have been more and more inquires from mining companies and I think that is important; obviously it’s a cheaper energy source but it also reduces the amount of carbon generated into the atmosphere.”
Reliability
Mr Tan says there are still reliability issues that need to be addressed before renewables can replace traditional power sources across the sector.
He says Mt Cattlin’s wind-swept location means the development of a reliable energy source is more achievable than it would be in other regions.
There are also issues with solar power.
“Obviously the major issue with solar generation is the ability to continue to generate power at night when the sun is not shining,” he said.
“We already have a diesel generator on site, so we would use that as a back up power supply in case there were any disruptions to the flow of the renewable energy.”
The Chamber of Minerals and Energy director Damian Callachor says reliability is an issue for most mining companies.
“There are some real practical and regulatory barriers to how companies in remote areas, far removed from electricity transmission grids, can use renewable technologies,” he said.
“Obviously there is a need for large scale industrial equipment to have a consistent base load of power or energy supply.
“The equipment is damaged if there is a sudden drop in the power being provided to the machinery, like wind for example, perhaps during the night it may fall up or down.
“These are the sorts of issues that the industry is keen to work on.”
Swan Energy recognize these limitations and James Rhee says they are investing heavily in developing technology that will capture excess wind and solar energy to store in large scale batteries.
“We hope to have the technology available in the next five years,” he said.
“This would a go a long way to improving the reliability of renewables.”
Mr Rhee says Australian conditions create the perfect environment for renewable energies.
“Australia has the longest sunshine hours and has weather patterns that see consistent winds blow, particularly in WA.”
Mr Rhee is confident renewable energies will prove successful on an industrial scale.
“If we can develop technologies that address the power consistency issues, I’m confident that most mine sites will be generating their power from renewables in the coming decades,” he said.
