African mining companies have a strong case for converting to 100% peak penetration of solar or wind energy, rather than implementing partial solutions that bring only small environmental and financial benefits, Siemens sales manager Fabrice Nicolas said at the Renewables and Mining Summit that took place in Johannesburg last week.

He noted that the best renewable options are site specific and that the first three rounds of South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme have shown that renewable energy – especially wind and solar power – is competitive, adding that there are large amounts of both resources in South Africa.

Nicolas mentioned that transitioning to renewable energy in the mining sector was not without its challenges.

“One of the major challenges regarding renewables in the mining sector is changing the current mindset and introducing renewable energy to the normal grid-tied market. People need to be educated when it comes to the benefits of incorporating renewable energy into mining to successfully move forward in that direction,” he said.

He pointed out that mines in Africa are well positioned to benefit from renewable solutions owing to the available solar and wind resources, coupled with high diesel costs across the continent.

Fabrice pointed out that the shift to renewables is being hampered by the long development cycle at most mines, explaining that, typically, renewables are not given consideration during the mine’s initial planning phase.

“Mines are not developed in one year – they can take up to ten years to be fully developed and the real impact of renewable energy in a mining operation will only be seen two or three years into the operation, after the new technology [has been] implemented in the mines. We are, however, at a stage where renewables are being considered as a serious option,” he said.

He added that renewable energy has, until recently, only made economic sense for remote mines that are not part of the grid or mines that have high energy costs.

“As the prices of batteries and other storage solutions begin to decrease, the business case for renewables will become more appealing,” he noted.

He added that implementing a renewables solution “has many moving parts” and a mine needs a provider that can install a photovoltaic (PV) or wind operation, with a control system and competent storage, because when clouds are overhead, a PV system can lose 70% of its power.

“Most mines are waiting for someone to take the first step. Once the first project is implemented successfully, other mines will follow. It is just a matter of time before renewables in the mining sector take off,” Fabrice said.