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Rio Tinto is going to be building a solar power plant that will provide carbon-free electricity for the mine as it heads into its closure.
Construction is set to start within the next couple of weeks and the plant is expected to be running in the first half of 2024.
“It’s part of Rio Tinto’s overall commitment to try and decarbonize the operations and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions over the next couple of years,” said Angela Bigg, the president and chief operating officer of Diavik Diamond Mine in a phone interview with CBC.
The facility will have bi-facial panels that will generate electricity from sunlight as well as from light that reflects off the snow. The solar power plant is expected to provide 55.4 MW of electricity for the mine.
The total cost of having the solar power plant in place is just over $4 million, with annual maintenance costs estimated at over half a million dollars per year. Diavik will be funding the maintenance costs as part of their operation costs.
The project will be supported through $3.3 million from the Government of the Northwest Territories’ Large Emitters GHG Reducing Investment Grant Program. The program involves large emitters receiving 12 per cent back of the total carbon tax they paid for a fiscal year when they undertake a project which will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
The company will also be receiving $600,000 from another clean energy tax credit.
Bigg said the project really wasn’t about saving money, but rather about reducing carbon emissions.
“I think over the life of the mine, it will probably be about net zero in terms of operating cost, installation cost, less the diesel that we save.”
The mine is expected to end its production in 2026, and the solar power plant is expected to supply it with electricity through its closure work that will run until 2029.
“Eliminating the emissions of 630 cars”
Diavik says the solar panels will reduce emissions by 2.9 kilotonnes of CO2 equivalent per year compared to using diesel to produce the electricity —it is “comparable to eliminating the emissions of 630 cars,” the company says.
Such a reduction is about 1.5 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions Diavik emitted in 2021, according to an air quality monitoring report.
Bigg acknowledged that it wasn’t a very big reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, but that every little bit of work is a step in the right direction.
“It is quite small. However, unfortunately, we are in the position like the other diamond mines where we have to wholly generate all the electricity ourselves,” said Bigg.
When asked why a solar power plant worth millions of dollars is being built now, as the mine is heading into closure, Bigg said that it’s part of the organization’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emission. She said the organization already has a wind farm that offsets about 10 per cent of reduction of the total diesel consumption for the mine.
Danny Harvey, a professor at University of Toronto who teaches courses related to energy and global warming, said although the change doesn’t greatly reduce the total greenhouse gas emissions, it’s a step in the right direction.
“Even though it’s small, it’s a start, it’s getting the foot in the door,” he said, adding that it shows that there is some viability to using solar energy.
He also said the solar panels being placed at the mine would help reduce fees.
“If you can generate the electricity right where you need it, then you don’t need to transmit it any great distance. So you’re avoiding transmission losses and transmission costs,” he said.
Second life to the power plant?
Bigg said there are a number of possibilities the company is considering for the power plant when the mine is no longer operating. Some of the options include giving the infrastructure to the Government of the Northwest Territories or to the NWT Power Corporation, so that the solar power plant can be deployed elsewhere.
Bigg said what’s different about these solar panels is that they’ll be coming in a wire basket with rocks in it, so it would be easier to redeploy if they need to be moved compared to solar panels that are secured into the ground.
“This sort of new technology … is helping us here,” she said.
In an emailed statement, Shane Thompson, N.W.T. Environment Minister, said he supports the building of the solar power plant.
“Rio Tinto’s plan to build the largest solar power plant across Canada’s territories is great news for the Northwest Territories,” the statement said.
“As a government, we are committed to reducing our reliance on imported fossil fuels like diesel and gasoline, and expanding the reach of energy conservation and efficiency initiatives.”
With files from Liny Lamberlink
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