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Canadian mining company NextSource Materials has announced the commissioning of a 2.69 MW solar power plant at the Molo mine in Madagascar. Equipped with a battery storage system, the facility is operated by CrossBoundary Energy (CBE).

The solar power plant operating at the Molo mine has 4,902 panels installed over an area of 1.3 hectares. The facility has a capacity of 2.69 MW and is connected to a 1.37 MWh battery electricity storage system, as well as a 3.1 MW diesel-powered generator. According to the Canadian mining company NextSource Materials, with the load balancing provided by the electricity storage system, the hybrid solar plant will be able to supply up to 100% of the Molo processing plant’s electricity needs during peak hours of the day.

The thermal plant supplies all base load and off-peak electricity requirements to ensure an uninterrupted power supply to the mine. “The hybrid solar plant will be able to supply up to 35% of the electricity needs of the entire Molo system from renewable energy, significantly reducing maintenance costs and carbon emissions by 2,275 tonnes a year,” says the company, which is headed by Craig Scherba