Taking Advantage of the Sun

The following article was written by Marc-Antoine Dufour, Energy Efficiency Engineer at Raglan Mine and was originally printed in Raglan Mine's employee newsletter, the Katinniapik.

Raglan Mine continues its efforts to reduce its carbon footprint in collaboration with its renewable energy partner, Tugliq Energy. Through the latter’s initiative, the development of a photovoltaic solar park began in 2020.

In July 2021, the solar park was completed adding to the two wind turbines that have been in operation since 2014 and 2018, respectively, and which already provide more than 10% of the energy required to operate the mine.

This project’s objective is to assess the performance of solar energy production in Canada’s Far North. The new facility consists of 108 panels in total, which will generate 40 kilowatt-peak (kWp) of energy and are located at the Mine 2 site, near the wind turbines. Like the wind turbines, the facility is operated and maintained by Tugliq. 

The power generated by the cells will be converted from direct to alternating current through an invertor, in order to be integrated into the 25-kilovolt (kV) distribution network and help power the Katinniq site, as well as the Mine 2, Mine 3, Qakimajurq, PM8H and PM14 sites. 

Bifacial panels capture solar radiation reflected off the snow, ensuring a higher performance and helping melt the snow that may accumulate at the top of the panels.

The renewable energy produced will be added to that of the wind turbines to mitigate Raglan Mine’s fossil fuel consumption.