Two Individuals Facilitate Major Solar Heat Agreement in Chilean Copper Sector
Groundbreaking Solar Industrial Heat Plants Set to Emerge in Chile: Gasco’s USD 71 Million Investment to Fuel Copper Mines with Renewable Energy In the coming months, construction is set to commence on three expansive solar industrial heat plants in Chile. Gasco, the Chilean power utility, is spearheading the investment with USD 71 million allocated towards two flat plate collector fields boasting a combined capacity of 154 MW. These facilities will supply heat for the electrowinning baths at two prominent copper mines: Minera Escondida and Spence, both operated by the Australian-British company BHP. BHP, holding a majority share (57.5%) in Minera Escondida and full ownership of Spence, is steadfast in its commitment to producing copper sustainably, aiming for a CO2-free operation. To achieve this goal, the mining giant plans to procure solar heat to cover over 80% of its electrowinning heat demand, with the remainder supplied by electro boilers powered by renewable electricity.
The driving forces behind this significant agreement are Ian Nelson from Chile and Hans Grydehøj from Denmark. Nelson, who served as the Managing Director of Energia Llaima, oversaw the ownership and operation of the 38 MW field at the Gabriela Mistral mine from 2012 to 2022 (as depicted in the photo above). Grydehøj, Nelson’s collaborative partner from his former Danish company Sunmark, played a pivotal role in planning and constructing the Gabriela Mistral plant in 2012 and 2013.
Both of these experts have since moved on from their previous affiliations. Sunmark, Grydehøj’s former company, was acquired by Danish competitor Arcon in 2015 and operated as Arcon Sunmark until its closure in 2020. Nelson, on the other hand, sold his company Energia Llaima to the Canadian firm Innergex in 2021, a renowned developer of renewable electricity projects. Innergex now assumes ownership and operation of the 38 MW collector field at the Gabriela Mistral mine.
Solar Heat Finds Ideal Application in Chilean Copper Mines
“Nelson emphasized, ‘What Gasco is now financing and constructing has four times the solar heat capacity of our initial plant at Gabriela Mistral, which commenced operations in October 2013.” Through his company INCHS (Innovative Cold & Heat Solutions), in collaboration with Grydehøj, Nelson is actively involved in supporting Gasco throughout the design, procurement, and construction phases. His indispensable contribution underscores that without his involvement, the significant heat purchase agreements between Gasco and the mines would not have come to fruition.
“Gasco trusts me because I worked with them on different energy projects over almost two decades in the 1980s and 1990s”, explained Nelson. He was also the person promoting solar heat for copper producers in Chile over the last decade. “I have been in constant contact with Minera Escondida and Spence over the last ten years.” The mines even put solar thermal energy out to tender a few years ago, but the bids ended without a contract, remembered Nelson.
Copper industry deeply concerned about green copper
Times have changed completely. Today, copper producers are under pressure to offer their product with a low carbon footprint due to the requirements of their clients and supply chain laws in some regions of the world.
Electrowinning is an ideal process for solar heat usage. It is the last stage of copper production, the electrolytic refining of the copper in an acid bath. This bath has to be kept at a temperature of 48°C at all times. Under the strong sun in Chile in the desert areas where copper is mined, the flat-plate collectors at Gabriela Mistral achieved a specific yield of 1,112 kWh/m2 annually in the first three years of operation.
The solar heat plant for Minera Escondida is divided into two collector fields (see table below). The 90 MW flat plate collector field will supply heat to two electrowinning baths and their boilers, which are referred to as “Oxides” and “Interplant” within the mine. The two process units are roughly 250 m away from each other. The second plant at Minera Escondida with 23 MW will be connected to the electrowinning process including a set of boilers known as “Sulphides”, several kilometres away from the first plant.
The first successful reference Gabriela Mistral mine enabled Arcon Sunmark to sell a second plant with 4.4 MW for a copper mine in Mexico in 2016. Grydehøj, as International Sales Executive at Arcon-Sunmark, was in charge of planning and building this turnkey project for the Mexican mining group Peñoles.
|
Mine, country 矿山，国家 |
Owner of mine 矿主 |
Flat plate collector field area |
Solar capacity of the flat plate collector field* |
Start of operation 开始运营 |
EPC of collector field 集电场EPC |
Operated by an energy service company |
|
Gabriela Mistral, Chile |
Codelco 科德尔科 |
40,100㎡ |
38 MW |
2013 |
Sunmark, Denmark |
Yes |
|
La Parreña, Mexico |
Peñoles 佩诺莱斯 |
6,270㎡ |
4.4 MW |
2016 |
Arcon-Sunmark, Denmark |
No |
|
Nacozari mine, Mexico |
Grupo Mexico |
910㎡ |
784 kW |
2023 |
Flemming Jorgensen, Mexico |
No |
|
Minera Escondida, Chile |
BHP |
92,907㎡ |
90 MW (Oxides and Interplant) |
n/a |
Gasco, Chile |
Yes |
|
Minera Escondida, Chile |
BHP |
25,110㎡ |
23 MW (Sulphides) |
n/a |
Gasco, Chile |
Yes |
|
Spence, Chile |
BHP |
41,850㎡ |
41 MW |
n/a |
Gasco, Chile |
Yes |
Overview of solar heat plants in the copper industry. Gasco plans to commission the three large flat plate collector fields for Minera Escondida and Spence at the end of 2025. The names in brackets represent the names of the processes/boilers within the BHP mines that will be supplied with solar heat. * The solar thermal capacity of the plants in Chile is determined by the project developers depending on the irradiation level on site and not calculated with the standard conversion rate of 0.7 kW/m2.
View into the technical room of the just finalised 0.8 MW solar thermal installation at the Grupo Mexico mine with the new control system S200 developed by the Danish company Jorgensen Thermal Solutions. The user interface is designed for operation with many employees, as is the case with mining industry. The balance of plant was prefabricated in Denmark and then shipped to Mexico.
How did the preparations for the big solar heat deal with the three large new mining projects finally go? BHP put three solar fields out to tender in January 2022. This was the time when Nelson phoned Grydehøj to find out whether he would again be onboard to design the big plants.
“The mines are super concerned about the green copper now. This is why we even oversized the collector fields a bit in order to bring the solar share even above the 80% that we achieved at the Gabriela Mistral plant”, explained Nelson.
Gasco won the bid and published a press release in May 2023 confirming the signing of the two 20-year heat purchase agreements with the mines Minera Escondida and Spence. For the ownership and operation of the solar fields, Gasco founded two special purpose vehicles called Gasco Solar Térmico Uno and Gasco Solar Térmico Dos. Construction of the two plants should start in March 2024 and should be finalized in September 2025. The collectors will be purchased from Micoe, one of the brands of the Chinese Solareast Group, the largest collector manufacturer worldwide. The financial volume of USD 71 million is a purely private investment. There is no government funding available.
Nelson confirmed that together with Grydehøj they are currently developing other large-scale solar heat projects.
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