B2Gold began commercial production at the Otjikoto Mine in early 2015. With a strong commitment to responsible mining, environmental protection, and community well-being, executives began planning construction of a 7 MW solar facility at the mine.
Seeking an integrated hybrid system that would generate consistent power both day and night, Cat® dealer Barloworld designed and built a solar facility containing 62,400 Cat thin-film PVT modules mounted on single-axis trackers, along with 260 solar inverters, seven 1 MW transformers, and the Cat Microgrid Master Controller (MMC).
Cat thin-film photovoltaic modules have a lower temperature coefficient than silicon modules, delivering more power in hot or humid conditions and producing up to 6 percent more energy annually. The mounting system enables the solar facility to produce a consistently high amount of power throughout the day.
“The solar plant on a hot, sunny day could end up providing close to 50% penetration,” said Mark Dawe, managing director for B2Gold Namibia. “The only way we could get that is through the autonomous synchronization supplied by the Cat MMC.”
Construction was completed in under a year. The facility exceeded expectations by generating 14.8 million kWh of energy per year, half the power needed for mining operations during peak sunlight hours. The result was an annual savings of 14-16 percent in the cost of power generation.
“We monitor the power generated by our solar plant on a continuous basis,” Dawe noted. “Wherever we are in the world, we can see what the solar plant is generating.”
