Suntrace and BayWa r.e., along with B2Gold Corp., have commissioned the world’s largest off-grid solar-battery hybrid system for the mining industry, at the Fekola gold mine in Mali.
The solar-battery hybrid plant was integrated successfully with the existing power plant operation, and the solar plant is on course to be 100 percent complete by the end of June. B2Gold, a Canadian mining company that owns and operates gold mines in Mali, Namibia and the Philippines, approved the hybrid project for implementation in July 2019, following completion of preliminary studies by Suntrace and BayWa r.e.
The Fekola gold mine currently operates 24-hours a day. During the daytime, the new 30-megawatt solar plant allows three out of six heavy fuel oil generators to be shut down, and the energy production of the residual three generators could also be significantly reduced. The 15.4 megawatt hours of battery storage compensate energy generation fluctuations and ensure a reliable op
