Modern Mining June 2019

POWER SUPPLY AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY

budget. The installation was inaugurated at the end of May 2018 by Namibia’s Minister of Mines & Energy, Tom Alweendo. The solar farm comprises 62 400, 115-W Cat‑branded thin-film solar panels, manufac- tured by its joint venture partner First Solar, Inc, which has its headquarters in Arizona. The panels are mounted on a PiA single-axis tracking system. The DC power is converted to

most economically viable option at any point in time. The contract for the solar plant was awarded to Barloworld Namibia, in partner- ship with Barloworld Power in South Africa, the Caterpillar dealer in Southern Africa, and Caterpillar Microgrid Solutions in the US. The project was completed at a cost of approxi- mately N$115 million, on schedule and within

The processing plant at the Otjikoto gold mine (photo: Arthur Tassell).

feature Visualisation of the Syama hybrid power plant.

AC power through Sunny tri- power three-phase SMA string inverters and is then distrib- uted to the HFO plant via Schneider switchgear in the PV control building through a 3,5 km overhead powerline. B2Gold reported earlier this year that the solar plant is now providing approxi- mately 13 % of the electricity consumed on site. According to the company, changing the power plant to an HFO solar hybrid facility reduced Otjikoto’s HFO consumption in 2018 by approximately

46  MODERN MINING  June 2019