THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Renewables in remote mines – a litmus test for the wider renewables transition
Entura’s Greg Koppens has recently returned from the Energy and Mines Summit in Perth, where he led the ‘Think Tank’: a collaborative session addressing the challenge of powering process steam requirements from renewables-generated electricity. Here he shares his observations on the rise of renewables in the mining industry …
Australia’s mining industry is beginning the peak phase of its energy revolution. However, I find it unfortunate that this exciting fact is invisible to regular people. It is happening in remote areas on mining leases, inaccessible to the public. Each project alone is not sensational enough for media attention, but added together these projects are nothing short of a technology revolution. For remote mining sites to have a solar farm is now standard practice. In many cases this is backed up by battery storage and a handful of mines have onsite wind turbines.
The past: fossil-fuel driven mines
Australia is world-renowned for our mining industries, with mines of virtually every resource throughout our country. Up until about ten years ago, nearly all of Australia’s mines ran completely on diesel or gas. In most cases diesel was trucked in, or gas was brought in via pipeline. Most of these mines have energy expenses in the tens of millions of dollars per year. A small change in the oil price can drastically impact the mine’s bottom line.
If there’s one doubtless fact about mining, it’s that miners are practical people. They are problem solvers, and they know what works. With the boom-and-bust nature of resource markets and shareholder responsibilities, finances must be well managed.
The present: hybrid renewables power generation
At the Energy and Mines Summit, there was no discussion about whether it’s a good idea to consider renewables in the mix of power generation – it was simply a given. This is an industry in ‘early maturity’: it is no longer pioneers running a trial. Several systems are in the order of 100 MW capacity. Renewables are a tested and proven business decision. Everyone has crunched the numbers on their sites and, while each project has unique site-specific requirements, the conclusions are unanimous. The frontier is now getting access to skilled people, there is community engagement for siting of large assets and mutual benefits, and the industry is exploring emerging technologies such as electric fleet.
We now have all the technology needed to harness the power of the wind and the sun in an 80/20 mix with fossil fuels. Or a 50/50 mix when the system has solar power alone. And this is what is being implemented in practice all over Australia. We can do it in a way that achieves targets for price, reliability, service life, operability, maintainability and environmental impact. This greatly reduces the costs and risks of intermediate services such as refining and transportation as well as exposure to the global oil price. Mining companies are taking control of their energy supply by either owning the energy and storage assets or building well-defined low-risk partnerships.
The big project: transitioning the Pilbara to renewables
At the conference there was some focus on the Pilbara, which is a huge and complicated energy consumer, consuming 16 TWh (16 million MWh) of electricity per year, mostly coming from gas.
On the surface, it seems to be very low hanging fruit to quickly construct a few solar and wind assets to shift this picture. However, in the interests of the best long-term outcomes, the area needs planning, consultation and coordination. The Western Australian Government has developed a plan for ensuring that common-use infrastructure is used where possible, rather than risking having multiple redundant assets owned by different corporations. Aboriginal and community participation is recognised as crucial for the appropriate siting of wind, solar and transmission equipment.
The near future: electric fleet
Approximately half of a typical mine’s energy needs can be met by onsite electricity generation. The other half currently requires diesel fuel to run a fleet of light vehicles, monstrous ‘haul’ dump trucks such as the 250 tonne CAT 793, and every piece of mobile machinery in between. These mobile machines are the next target for reducing costs, carbon emissions and labour. Several trial projects are happening. For underground mines, where diesel has previously been used, huge ventilation fans will need far less power when there are no exhaust fumes to expel.
Machine manufacturers are developing a wide array of specialised battery electric products. In some applications, there is battery swap technology, as in modern power tools. In other applications, a fixed battery plugs in to recharge, like in an electric car. There are also trolley systems, akin to a tram or train. The best system for each job depends on the application.
Transitioning to a fully electric fleet will significantly increase a site’s electricity needs, with the biggest chargers running at 6 MW at full power. We are expecting to see sites’ electrical grids upgraded soon to integrate this high-power charging.
What is Entura doing?
At Entura, in addition to electrical generation and distribution design, we have specialised capabilities in control systems and power system studies for mining projects. Our microgrid control system (MCS) uses standard and reliable industrial Allen Bradley hardware to monitor and control the power station assets. We have a field-proven core algorithm for maintaining a priority of reliable power supply including backup/reserve supply, while making the greatest use of wind and solar where available. We’ve proven this process in our existing installations in the field and we lead the industry in methodology, practicality and voltage/frequency management.
We’ve seen the real benefits these systems bring to our clients and communities, both at mining sites and in other remote locations. Entura has a long history of design, formation and operation of microgrids throughout Australia (such as King Island, Flinders Island, Rottnest Island, and at mining sites such as the Agnew gold mine) and in the Pacific region (including the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Tonga, and the Solomon Islands, to name just a few).
Contact us if you’re interested in unlocking the full potential of microgrids for your operation or community, or if you’re interested in ways to increase your use of renewable energy.
[Image immediately above] Entura’s Patrick Pease, Greg Koppens and Mark Richardson at the 2025 Energy and Mines Summit
[Top of article] Greg Koppens (centre) onsite at Jabiru Power Station, Northern Territory
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Greg Koppens is Entura’s Principal Control Engineer Hybrid Renewable Systems and previously led Entura’s secondary electrical engineering team. Greg’s experience spans power, oil and gas, and mining, including onsite roles. With over two decades of detailed design experience, Greg facilitates collaboration between engineering disciplines and other stakeholders to solve complex problems. He regularly shares his extensive expertise with the mining sector to advance their decarbonisation goals. Find out more about Greg in our podcast series here.
26 June, 2025
