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Diavik going green with wind farm
Four 2.3-megawatt wind turbines to be constructed at diesel power-reliant Diavik Diamond MineThandie Vela Northern News Services Published Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The four 2.3-megawatt wind turbines being brought to the site will make up the first large-scale wind farm at an operating mine, globally. "We're here today to announce what we think is a pretty exciting project at Diavik," said Alasdair Martin, acting president and chief operating officer, last Friday when the project was announced at the mine's office in Yellowknife. "The main aim there is we're currently a very remote site completely reliant on diesel power generation. We're looking to broaden the generating capacity into wind to reduce our reliance on diesel, ultimately to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions going forward." The remote wind farm to be installed at the mine located about 300 km northeast of Yellowknife, will provide a capacity of 9.2 megawatts, reducing the mine's diesel consumption by 10 per cent, or about four million litres. Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by about 12,000 tonnes, Diavik estimates. Cost savings from the wind farm from direct diesel purchase and trucking offsets are estimated to be $5-6 million, depending on fuel prices. The capital cost is about $25-30 million, including the purchase, transport, and installation of the turbines. While the wind farm "certainly helps from a cost point of view," the possibility of it actually extending the mine life is "unlikely," Martin said. The estimated life of Diavik, which is currently transitioning into a fully-underground mine, is expected to extend until 2022-24. Unlike most wind-generating projects which feed onto grids, the Diavik wind farm will feed directly into its diesel generating power process, principal energy adviser for Diavik Liezl van Wyk said. "It is the largest remote wind-diesel hybrid installation, anywhere globally," she said. "There's a long shopping list of innovations on this project." The turbines, which are guaranteed to work up to - 40 C temperature, stand about 64 metres from the base to the generator, and with 35-metre-long blades, stretch to about 100 metres high. Final construction and commissioning of the farm is expected to be complete by the fourth quarter of next year, with power extraction expected to start by this time next year. Made by Aurich, Germany-based manufacturer Enercon GmbH, the turbines will be transported to the mine site by winter ice road, in February or March. Diavik conducted a three-year wind resource study leading up to the decision to construct the wind farm, and in June, donated its weather tower to Det'on Cho Earth Energy, the GNWT, and the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, who have partnered to determine the feasibility of a wind farm at the Giant Mine remediation site.
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