Journal
SUSTAINABILITY
Volume 8, Issue 12, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/su8121320
Keywords
renewable energy; abandoned mine; mine tailings dam; photovoltaic system; feasibility study
Funding
- Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) - Ministry of Education [2015R1D1A1A01061290]
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As mineral resources are depleted, most mines are typically abandoned and left unattended, resulting in serious social problems that impede sustainable development of these areas. The mining industry has recently introduced the use of renewable energy systems to solve the problems. This study assessed the photovoltaic (PV) potential of an abandoned mine tailings dam at the Sangdong mine in South Korea. A regional shading analysis and field investigations indicated that the usable area for installing the PV system was 44,220 m(2). The design capacity of the system was 3 MW considering the space available for the PV array. Power generation was simulated by inputting data about the hourly weather, system design, and a site assessment into System Advisor Model software. Simulation results indicated that 3509 MWh of electricity could be generated annually. Moreover, economic feasibility analysis, assuming a 20 year project period, confirmed that the net present value of the PV systems would be $1,903,000 USD. Therefore, installing a 3 MW PV system on the mine tailings dam at the Sangdong mine is feasible and could provide an efficient option for sustainable development of the abandoned mine land.
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