Improved implementation strategies to sustain energy saving measures on mine cooling systems

Abstract

Mining- and industrial sectors consumed close to 40% of the total energy produced in the world during 2013. Cooling systems account for approximately one quarter of the total electricity consumption of a typical deep-level mine. However, most mine cooling systems lack integrated management and efficient, optimised control. Electricity demand can thus be reduced through the implementation of energy saving measures on these cooling systems. Successful implementation of these energy saving measures results in both improved utilisation and performance of mine cooling systems. Existing implementation strategies, however, do not prevent deterioration of the utilisation and performance of the mine cooling systems. This necessitates the development of improved implementation strategies that focus on long-term project sustainabil i ty. Several newly developed strategies were thus proposed and applied during the implementation of an energy saving project on a mine cooling system. The improved implementation strategies in this case study resulted in sustainable savings of 0.66 MW. The case study therefore achieved an electricity cost saving of R2.9 million per anum, based on the 2013/2014 Eskom electricity tariffs.