Renewable energy for the mining industry: trends and developments

Renewable energy (RE) for the mining industry has perspectives for an implementation and development confirms by the case studies from the mining countries. The European Union focuses on increasing of the capacity of RE generation and consumption according to the Directive on the promotion of the use of energy from RE sources. The specific objective of this paper is to explore a possibility for implementing of RE sources into the mining industry. Within this study the following aspects are dealt with, firstly, a comparative analysis of levelized costs of electricity from RE and fossil energy is presented. Secondly, the cost evaluation analysis of RE for transmission and distribution systems into the mining industry is considered. Thirdly, we investigate the technological possibilities for the RE integration into the mining industry. Finally, a guideline for the implementation of RE into the European mining industry is developed. Consequently, the conclusions are drawn about the main results of the paper.