Wärtsilä’s energy storage system to aid in decarbonisation of Australia’s mining activities

Renewables

Finland/Australia – Wärtsilä, a technology company, will sell a 9.2 MW / 8.7MWh energy storage system to Zenith Energy, an Australian Independent Power Producer (IPP).

Zenith supplies the electricity it generates to some of the major mining firms in the world that have operations in Australia. 

Operational in Q1 2022

The energy storage system will be used to meet cyclic load demands in an underground mine and will run in parallel with an existing dual fuel engine power plant with a total capacity of 65.98 MW. The energy storage system will be delivered as engineered equipment (EEQ) and is planned to be operational in Q1 2022.

Fleet expansion

The order is scheduled to be delivered in June 2021. Zenith Energy is a repeat Wärtsilä customer, having previously purchased three running Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel engines for constant load supply. Zenith Energy plans to expand its fleet of Wärtsilä 34SG pure gas engines by two in 2022. The new energy storage system, which combines GridSolv Quantum modules and the GEMS Digital Energy Platform, will accommodate a higher frequency of load cycling. 

By reducing frequent engine ramping and managing the mining site’s power fluctuations, adding storage improves operational efficiency, resulting in fuel savings and a lower carbon footprint for the mine’s power plant.

Power Plant Controller

Wärtsilä’s GEMS Digital Energy Platform will combine Zenith’s engines and act as a Power Plant Controller, enabling the hybrid plant to function intelligently and efficiently.

In future operations, GEMS will also be capable of managing the remote grid as a single portfolio. With Wärtsilä’s energy storage and intelligent energy management system, Zenith will be able to effortlessly integrate additional renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic solar or wind into this hybrid network in the future. A significant step toward Australia’s aim of decarbonisation.

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