Finnish company Wartsila is to design and engineer a 17MW energy storage system at the Fekola gold mine in the African country of Mali for Canadian company B2Gold.
The system, based on Wartsila’s GEMS energy management solution, will be used to improve the mine’s operations, reduce fuel consumption and lessen carbon emissions.
Fekola currently relies on conventional liquid fuels for its power and will be the first mine in the region to add energy storage.
Wartsila’s GEMS technology will not only control the new energy storage system, but will also control a new 30MW solar plant currently under construction.
The solution will optimise energy production for the entire mine 24/7, the company said.
GEMS uses artificial intelligence and automated decision-making based on real-time and forecasted data, including load demand and weather, to optimally operate the system’s assets and maximise efficiencies, it added.
B2Gold project manager Jan Clausen said: “We chose Wartsila because of their experience in the region, and because of their capabilities in designing and managing hybrid plants.
“We wanted to optimise full electricity generation at the mine using solar and energy storage. A key part of this solution is Wartsila’s state-of-the-art GEMS technology; it was an easy decision.”
Wartsila has completed similar projects in Africa, including at a gold mine in Burkina Faso.
Wartsila business development director for energy storage and optimisation Risto Paldanius said: “Hybrid solutions with renewable energy sourced power operations, are a realistic and effective means for increasing energy reliability and lowering operating costs for the mining sector.
“These remote locations are ideally suited for hybrid systems. Our extensive experience with microgrids in various climatic and geographical conditions will help the Fekola mine, and others of its kind, to achieve their environmental and cost saving goals.”