Energy Storage in Mali
B2Gold + Wärtsilä

Reference case

Renewables plus energy storage become cost-competitive at an off-grid mine in Mali

B2Gold, a Canadian public gold-mining company, operates a large gold mine in southwest Mali, Africa.

Seeking a clean energy solution to improve energy generation and energy security at the off-grid mine, including integration of existing energy assets (solar and engines), B2Gold chose a hybrid solution to reduce their fuel-dependence, cut carbon emissions and optimise mining operations at the Fekola Mine.

WhoB2GOLD
What15.4MWh Energy storage and GEMS software
WhereMali
HowEEQ with installation supervision

This is what we achieved

17.3MW

Optimised Energy Storage using GEMS Energy Management Software

3900 Tonnes

Reduction in Carbon Emissions per year

GEMS is basically the quarter-back of the team

Dennis Stansbury, Senior Vice-President of B2Gold

How we did it

Challenge icon

Challenge

  • Optimise energy production at a fuel-dependent, energy-intensive operational mining facility in southwest Africa
  • Ensure grid stability and provide energy security to a remote mine where energy from the local grid is unavailable and/or unreliable
  • Integrate and optimise multiple renewable assets under a single portfolio
Solution icon

Solution

  • Complete asset optimisation via GEMS automated and forecasted data to enable energy production security and efficiency
  • An integrated hybrid energy solution, incorporating an energy storage system, an existing solar array, an existing power generator, and industry-leading energy management controls
  • Sustainable clean energy addition to the mine
Benefit icon

Benefit

  • Reduced carbon emissions, fuel consumption and mining operational costs
  • Improved power reliability via storage energy generation capabilities
  • Short payback period ensuring the lowest LCOE

The main details


CustomerB2Gold
Site Size17.3 MW / 15.4 MWh
Site LocationMali, Africa
ApplicationMicrogrid control
Scope of ServicesEEQ with installation supervision
Delivery2020
Mali Map

Energy Transition Talks with Sushil Purohit

In this video, Sushil Purohit, President of Wärtsilä Energy, speaks to Dennis Stansbury, Senior Vice-President at B2Gold, about how their Fekola Gold Mine, in Mali, West Africa reduced their dependency on expensive fuel, lowered their carbon emissions and optimised their mining operations by using our energy storage and GEMS Digital Energy Platform.

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Related solutions and services

Related materials

Energy Storage: Enabling large-scale dispatchable renewable energy on South Africa’s grid (ATA Webinar)

Southern Africa: The Land of Renewables & Storage Opportunities (ATA Webinar)

Press releases

Wärtsilä to supply power plant for West Africa’s largest electricity project this year

Dec 22, 2017, 12:00 by Wärtsilä Corporation

The technology group Wärtsilä will deliver a turnkey power plant to provide electricity for the Phase Two expansion of the Tasiast mine located in Mauritania. The contract has been signed with Tasiast Mauritanie Ltd, a subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corporation, the Canada-based gold mining company. The order was booked in November 2017.

The 60 MW plant is the biggest project of its type in West Africa in 2017 and is expected to supply the electricity needed to run the mine at the expanded capacity of 30,000 tonnes per day.

The Phase Two project is expected to generate significant positive economic benefits for Mauritania and its people through additional taxes, duties, wages and locally supplied goods and services. Wärtsilä is appreciative of the support of the Government of Mauritania during its seven years of operation in the country, and continues to maintain a cooperative and constructive relationship with the Government and other local stakeholders.

“Wärtsilä has worked with Kinross earlier, and there is no better endorsement of customer satisfaction than to win a repeat order. This Engineering, Procurement and Construction project indicates the broad scope of Wärtsilä’s capabilities,” commented Marie-Andrée Truchi, Senior Business Development Manager, Africa West, Wärtsilä Energy Solutions.

The plant will operate using six Wärtsilä 32TS engines. Commercial production at Phase Two is expected to begin in Q3 2020. Wärtsilä also delivered the power generating engines for the 19 MW power plant serving the Tasiast mine’s phase 1B project.

For more information, please contact:

Arnaud Gouet
Regional Director, West Africa
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions
Tel: +33 1 47768938
arnaud.gouet@wartsila.com 

Matti Rautkivi
Sales & Marketing Director
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions
Tel: +1 281 707 6123
matti.rautkivi@wartsila.com 

Wärtsilä Energy Solutions in brief
Wärtsilä Energy Solutions is a leading global energy system integrator offering a broad range of environmentally sound solutions. Our offering includes ultra-flexible internal combustion engine based power plants, utility-scale solar PV power plants, energy storage & integration solutions, as well as LNG terminals and distribution systems. The flexible and efficient Wärtsilä solutions provide customers with superior value and enable a transition to a more sustainable and modern energy system. As of 2017, Wärtsilä has 65 GW of installed power plant capacity in 177 countries around the world.
https://www.smartpowergeneration.com/

Wärtsilä in brief
Wärtsilä is a global leader in advanced technologies and complete lifecycle solutions for the marine and energy markets. By emphasising sustainable innovation and total efficiency, Wärtsilä maximises the environmental and economic performance of the vessels and power plants of its customers. In 2016, Wärtsilä's net sales totalled EUR 4.8 billion with approximately 18,000 employees. The company has operations in over 200 locations in more than 70 countries around the world. Wärtsilä is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki.
www.wartsila.com

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