A model for an economic hybrid energy solution for a medium scale gold mine in remote Zimbabwe

Abstract

The growth in energy demand is surpassing generation capacity especially in developing nations. Traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels are finite and are the largest contributors to global warming due to emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). Strong initiatives have been borne to address energy sources whilst embarking on sustainable energy policies to reduce GHG and hence retard global warming. In the developing world, energy has been identified as one of the key drivers for sustainable development. It is against this background therefore, that renewable energy sources especially solar, wind and lately battery storage are now being included in the energy mix to address energy shortages whilst curtailing global warming. To provide energy to remote areas hybrid energy systems, grid-connected or off-grid, are being developed, with an incorporation of renewables into the energy mix. However, in most cases, sizing of hybrid energy solutions are done intuitively resulting in many cases of oversizing of hybrid energy systems which increases the cost.