Siemens is in talks with a consortium of Eurus Energy and Danvest to build a $300 million wind-and-diesel power station for powering mining sites at Australia.
The Australian mine at an undisclosed location will use this hybrid power system as an alternative energy source for mining operations.
Since past one year, Siemens has been in talks with Japanese firm Eurus Energy and Danish firm Danvest to begin construction of a hybrid station in the remote mining area by 2015.
Siemens authorities are of the hope that if all goes well, the first deal will see a plant with a transmission line that can deliver approximately 30 MW of power.
The facility may either be fully owned by the miner or Eurus Energy will hold the ownership after constructing it.
“The miners now have a real sharp cost focus due to external factors over the past 12 months, so now when you walk in the door with a cost-saving idea, as opposed to a volume increase, you’re getting attention,” commented, Andrew Riggs, head, wind power proposals, Siemens.
Before commencing the construction, Eurus will provide fund for the installation of test masts, which will help to identify wind power levels of each prospective site along with a year’s wind data.
It is estimated that, wind power will be able to operate the hybrid stations for about 60 percent of the time, delivering significant cost and environmental saving.
“We have worked on the financial modelling of these plants for a couple of years and we’re confident they stand up (without subsidies),” said, David Pryke, head for Australian renewables, Siemens.
Moreover, the stations will implement fast-acting diesel technology from Danvest, which will ensure that no power is lost when the wind is dropped.
This technology allows the diesel power to be ready at any time when the wind drops. The Siemens as well as Eurus plan does not use storage technology.
Sabeena Wahid
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