Abstract
In off-grid remote areas, the mining industry tends to be notably carbon-intensive due to its heavy reliance on diesel fuel for energy generation to meet electricity, heating, and cooling demands. Exploring alternative, more sustainable energy systems, such as wind turbines, emerges as a promising option to fully decarbonize this sector. This study focuses on the system-level simulation of an integrated energy generation system comprising a wind farm, energy storage, and a gas turbine component. The power output of the wind farm is determined by the wind speed data from NASA's Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource. For the energy storage component, Rock-based Thermal Energy Storage (R-TES) is considered for its simplicity, affordability, and potential for high energy densities. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model incorporating the Local Thermal Non-equilibrium (LTNE) assumption is employed to simulate the convective heat exchange between the air and rocks within the packed bed storage. This model is developed to predict the thermal performance of R-TES for both charging and discharging of the energy storage component. The gas turbine component is modeled through dynamic simulation, applying the thermodynamic principles of the Brayton cycle. To conduct the system-level simulation, the HOMER software is used. This study delves into the transient behavior of the integrated components, aiming to develop control strategies for optimizing system performance. The round-trip efficiency which is a critical metric for assessing the overall effectiveness of the integrated system, is chosen as the figure of merit. The comprehensive analysis provides valuable insights into the dynamic interactions and potential improvements for enhancing the overall efficiency and reliability of the integrated energy generation system, and ultimately in the decarbonization of remote mines.