Goldfields mine operations sign up to renewable energy deployment

Prefabricated solar array technology is being deployed at two major mine operations in the Goldfields after a partnership between Zenith Energy and 5B.

Independent power producer Zenith Energy and clean energy technology provider 5B have signed an Ecosystem Framework Agreement-Deployment permitting Zenith to be a deployment partner of the 5B Maverick system within Australia.

The 5B Maverick system solar array is being deployed to major sites across the Goldfields and Pilbara regions, including Red5’s King of the Hills operation near Leonora and IGO’s Nova nickel mine near Balladonia.

Zenith Energy managing director Hamish Moffat said the Maverick system provided significant advantages over traditional solar panel installation which would help reduce installation time and emissions.

“We’ve hit the price point where 5B Mavericks can be viably packed up and redeployed elsewhere, substantially reducing the risk of stranded assets in mining, agricultural and industrial operations,” he said.

“Traditional methods are capital-intensive and time-intensive and also entail a higher level of risk as far as people on the ground doing the installation (and) transportation, and the 5B system enables us to address those challenges.”

The Maverick system has been deployed to King of the Hills, providing 2MW of solar power on the Red 5 site supported by a battery energy storage system which will join a thermal generation power station to become a gas and solar hybrid system.

Installation of the Maverick system at IGO’s Nova nickel mine has recently started and is expected to be completed in June.

Mr Moffat said 5B’s system would play a major role in Zenith’s industry-first “engine-off” project at the Nova nickel mine, enabling the site to operate on up to nine consecutive hours of renewable energy through the installation of an additional 10MW of solar and a 10MW battery energy storage system.

The Maverick system installation will join Zenith Energy’s solar diesel hybrid infrastructure at the Nova mine completed in 2018.

“The project has been that successful that IGO have decided to support the installation of this incremental 10MW of solar and the 10MW battery, which will enable us to deliver the first engine off solar diesel hybrid project in the country,” Mr Moffat said.

He said the 5B agreement was a key milestone towards net zero emissions and the company planned to roll out renewable energy technology to more sites across the Goldfields.

“We want to be at the forefront of the emissions reduction guide path in the Goldfields and we’re working with a number of parties now to see if we can get that deployment moving,” he said.