Background
As Australia’s mining industry expands to deeper and more remote areas, the cost of electricity supply and environmental emission pressures continue to rise. Although the traditional power supply method relying on diesel generators is reliable, the high fuel costs and diesel engine emissions pose severe challenges to operating expenses and environmental protection. Mine managers urgently need innovative solutions to effectively reduce fuel consumption and carbon emissions while ensuring power stability.
Challenges
Mining operators need to generate electricity continuously due to their 24/7 operations. Many mining projects directly use diesel generators to ensure uninterrupted operation throughout the day. However, traditional power generation methods bring challenges:
Frequent maintenance:
Continuously running diesel generators require frequent maintenance, which increases downtime and related costs.
Environmental pollution:
Traditional diesel power generation methods produce a large amount of emissions, which affects the mining environment and has an impact on the environment.
SCU Solution
SCU tailored a GRES battery energy storage system for the mine with a capacity of 50 kWh and a PCS power of 75 kW. Combined with the customer’s existing diesel generators to form an energy storage-diesel hybrid system.
The system adopts VSG mode, which can achieve millisecond-level (0 ms) seamless switching between energy storage and diesel generators to ensure that the load always obtains stable power.
In addition, the energy storage system has a built-in AC/DC bidirectional module, which supports the “charging and discharging” working mode to avoid excessive discharge of the battery, while improving the overall charging and discharging efficiency and operating safety.
Hybrid system-battery energy storage & diesel generator
The SCU battery energy storage diesel generator hybrid system achieves efficient coordination between the energy storage system GRES and the diesel generator set through intelligent energy management, while ensuring power supply reliability and minimizing fuel consumption and emissions.
GRES battery priority and load response
- During daily operation, the system prioritizes GRES to supply power to the load, providing silent, zero-emission power.
- When the load power exceeds the sustainable output capacity of the battery, or the battery power drops to the set lower limit, the system automatically triggers the diesel generator to start.
Diesel generator coordinated power generation and charging
After the generator set is started, it will replenish the required power for the on-site load as soon as possible.
While meeting the load, the excess power is used to charge the battery and restore GRES to prepare for the next round of power demand.
Intelligent optimization of generator operation efficiency
GRES’s energy management system (EMS) monitors load demand and battery status in real time, adjusts generator output, and keeps it operating in the optimal load range (usually 30%–80% rated power), improving fuel efficiency and reducing emissions. Avoid generator operation under light load or no-load conditions, reducing mechanical wear and unnecessary fuel consumption.
GRES switching and seamless power supply
When the battery is charged to the set upper limit, the system automatically shuts down the diesel generator, and GRES seamlessly takes over all loads to ensure a continuous and stable power supply.
When the load changes suddenly or the battery power drops to the lower limit, the system restarts the generator within seconds to avoid power outages.
Benefits of adding battery energy storage systems
- Cost savings: After energy storage takes on peak and transient loads, the diesel engine can continue to operate in the optimal efficiency zone, significantly reducing fuel consumption and significantly reducing generator maintenance costs. GRES battery technology optimizes energy utilization and can reduce operating expenses by 50% to 80%, depending on site needs.
- Reduce environmental impact: By replacing part of diesel power generation with energy storage discharge, the fuel consumption of diesel generators is reduced, CO₂ emissions are reduced by about 120 tons per year, helping the mine to reduce its carbon footprint and reduce noise by up to 60%.
- Improve power reliability: Energy storage responds quickly to load fluctuations, smooths grid shocks, and reduces the risk of equipment failure caused by frequent start-up and shutdown.
Client Reviews
The mine operator highly recognizes the SCU hybrid power supply solution: “The energy storage-diesel system not only brings us significant cost savings, but also shows great value in reducing emissions and improving power supply reliability. In the future, we plan to continue to expand the scale of energy storage and cooperate with SCU to introduce solar energy to create a greener energy ecology for the mine.“
Outlook
With its leading energy storage technology and rich industry experience, SCU provides Australian mines with reliable, efficient, and low-carbon hybrid power supply solutions. We will continue to innovate and work with more remote and high-energy consumption scenarios to achieve dual optimization of energy costs and emissions and promote global sustainable development.