A small Western Australian engineering company is looking to develop the first portable solar thermal-diesel hybrid power plant for the gold mining industry.
Many remote gold mines have relatively short operating lives, are far away from existing electricity grids and are usually powered by diesel.
Skunkworks Engineering, in Kalgoorlie, is in collaboration with local and USA companies to develop a five-megawatt power plant.
CEO Shorty Ryan says the hybrid plant could reduce diesel fuel costs by 60 per cent and would be used on successive mine sites.
"The power plant will be fully relocatable.
"So yes, there'll be some footings that you leave in the ground and some concrete and bits and pieces that you leave behind. but 85-90 per cent of the plant will be just a big meccano set.
"Unbolt, put it on the trucks and take it to the next job."
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