Invest in solar-diesel hybrid micro-grids, mines told

By KENNEDY MUPESENI –
MINING houses should consider investing in solar-diesel hybrid micro-grids  as an alternative power source looking at the cost-effective nature of the electricity  source.
German Energy Solutions Initiative project manager for Southern Africa Tobias Cossen said the mines should consider investing their own capital in electricity micro-grids.
Mr Cossen said mining companies could also secure long-term solar power supply through power purchase agreements with investors who build plants and sell the electricity to the mine.
“The analysis shows that local solar-diesel hybrid micro-grids have become an interesting alternative in countries like Zambia.
“We have also observed in other countries of the region that industrial players, such as mining companies, lose large amounts of profit due to an unreliable power supply,” he said.
This is contained in a latest energy analysis posted on its website to be presented at today’s 2016 Zambia International Mining and Energy Conference (ZIMEC) in Lusaka.
At the beginning of the year, Mr  Cossen said the rates for mines have been raised to 10.35US¢/kWh, with further increases expected in a country that used to have an  abundance of inexpensive electricity from huge hydropower plants.
He illustrated that solar-diesel micro-grids was cost effective which could offer as low as US¢6.02/kWh, which  he said was  significantly lower price than  what Zambia  was paying for emergency solar power and what the  mining companies pay for either grid or diesel electricity.
Mr Cossen said in Zambia, the negative effects ranges from severe production losses  to higher electricity costs at the same time.
He said this should drive mining companies to become more self-sufficient especially that the country had  excellent sun irradiation, which  he said has a positive effect on electricity prices from photovoltaic (PV) power plants.
Mr Cossen said decentralisation of power generation in the form of solar-diesel hybrid micro-grids had a lot of advantages beyond price.