Ground-breaking hybrid power system to be delivered by Aggreko for gold mine 4,500m above sea level

LONDON, Jan. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Aggreko, the world's leading provider of mobile and modular power solutions, has signed a contract with global mining operator Gold Fields to provide a 25.9 MW hybrid system to the Salares Norte open pit gold mine in Chile. This ground-breaking thermal-PV-solution provides power for the entire mine, which sits at an altitude of 4,500m in the Andes mountain range and is 190km from the nearest town. Once complete, it will achieve $7.4m in cost of energy savings over the next decade and a further $1.1m in carbon tax offset over the Aggreko project lifetime in addition to 104,000 tonnes of carbon emissions savings.

The hybrid system will comprise both tailor-made high-altitude performance diesel gensets and Aggreko Solar Power units, optimized for off-grid applications and ready to meet extreme wind conditions. The gensets will each deliver 772kW and will incorporate Spinning Reserve and Cold Reserve units to efficiently manage peaks in demand. This diesel generation system will be integrated with solar units, which, once installed, will provide 9.9MW of cost and emission-free power.

The system will deliver a reliable, modular power supply across all five of the mine's distribution points, whilst surpassing the Chilean government's environmental standards as well as Gold Fields' requirement for a minimum of 20% renewable power generation for mining operations. At full capacity, Salares Norte will produce an average of 450,000oz of gold per year with Aggreko as the sole power provider.

The modular rental solution supports a consolidated CAPEX outlay, allowing for greater cost control and variable commitments whilst ensuring continued operational excellence at the mine.

Commenting on the news, Pablo Varela, Latin America Managing Director from Aggreko said: "As the energy transition continues to gather pace, our customers are increasingly looking for more flexible power solutions which can reliably support operations whilst reducing carbon emissions and lowering costs. Hybrid solutions including solar power enable a reliable and flexible power supply whilst reducing carbon emissions."

The 10-year contract between Aggreko and Gold Fields represents the strong working relationship between the companies, and follows a history of successful collaborations globally, such as the recent installation of one of the world's largest renewable microgrids at Gold Fields' Granny Smith mine in Western Australia.