Largest off-grid solar-battery system for mining industry

German-based renewable energy companies Suntrace GmbH and BayWa r.e. claims they have completed the commissioning of the world’s largest off-grid solar-battery hybrid system for the mining industry, at the Fekola gold mine in Mali, West Africa.

According to BayWa r.e., the integration of the solar power plant with the battery system will ensure safe and reliable power, saving 13.1mln litres of heavy fuel oil a year, and will help to reduce CO₂ emissions by 39,000t per year. 

Working with Canadian mining company B2Gold Corp, the companies state that the solar-battery hybrid plant was integrated and commissioned successfully with the existing power plant operation, and the solar plant is on course to be 100% complete by the end of June.

The Fekola gold mine operates 24-hours a day. During the daytime, the new 30MW solar plant allows three out of six heavy fuel oil generators to be shut down – the energy production of the residual three generators could also be significantly reduced.

The 15.4MWh battery storage compensates energy generation fluctuations and assures a reliable operation, which allows up to 75% of the electricity demand of the gold mine to be covered by renewable energy during the daytime.