SASKATCHEWAN RESEARCH COUNCIL
Powering a Remote Mine Remediation
Camp with Hybrid Energy
By Ryan Jansen, Saskatchewan Research Council
There are several off-grid com-munities
and industrial sites
in Saskatchewan that use die-sel
generators to meet their electrical pow-er
needs. Generally, these systems are able
to perform their basic function and pro-vide
reliable power, however, they pres-ent
some challenges as well. Fuel costs
make up the bulk of operational expen-ditures
for these systems. There are also
financial and environmental risks asso-ciated
with the transport and storage of
this fuel. These costs and risks increase
with the size of the site, as well as the lev-el
of difficulty involved with accessing the
site. A generator, by principle, follows the
electrical load, which leads to inefficien-cies
as the engine operates outside of its
optimal range. This results in excessive fu-el
consumption, increased pollution and
more frequent maintenance.
The need to improve overall efficiency
of power generation has become a priori-ty,
especially as fuel prices increase and as
mine development expands into more re-mote
locations. Such a need was identi-fied
at one of the legacy mine sites that the
Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) is
remediating in northern Saskatchewan,
the former Gunnar uranium mine and mill
site, as part of Project CLEANS (Cleanup of
Abandoned Northern Sites).
Site Assessment
A remediation camp was established at
Gunnar, which operated during the sum-mer
months and accommodated up to 60
people. All the power needs for the camp
were previously being met by two legacy
500-kW generators, which were sized to
meet the requirements of the initial de-molition
phase of the remediation effort,
but were oversized for current operation at
the camp.
Diesel represented a major operating ex-pense
for the camp, as approximately 460 L/
day of diesel was consumed to support the
small camp with a cost of approximately
PHOTO COURTESY OF SRC
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