An overview of directions for decarbonization of energy systems in cold climate remote mines

Diesel has long been the most affordable and most popular source of energy used in cold climate remote mines for provision of electricity, haulage and heating. However, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with burning diesel has become a concerning environmental impact for these mining operations. Renewable energy systems, such as wind turbines and solar photovoltaic, can serve as alternative solutions to mitigate this issue. Although some progress has been made to shift towards green energies, the high capital cost of battery storage systems is still a challenge for full decarbonization of the mine energy system. Hydrogen and thermal storage systems can play a favorable role in facilitating the application of renewable energies at mine sites owing to their relatively less expensive storage costs. This study aims to offer a renewable energy system for full provision of electricity, haulage and thermal power at remote mines through hybridization of renewable and multi-storage systems. A comprehensive techno-economic evaluation has been conducted to identify the optimal renewable solutions for different types of mining methods. The results of this study indicate that while hydrogen-powered vehicles deem to be a cost-effective solution for surface mines, battery electric vehicles are ideally suited for application in underground mining. Also, it reveals that hybridizing fuel cell and battery for electric storage results in economically superior performance compared to fuel cell alone and battery alone options for both surface and underground mining methods.