Sitting on a plateau 600 metres high on the Ungava Peninsula in northern Quebec, Glencore’s Raglan Mine is well situated to take advantage of the power of wind. In 2014, the company did exactly that when it completed its construction of a 120-metre high wind turbine and storage facility, the largest in Quebec.
Like most other northern mines, the off-grid Raglan Mine was heavily dependent on diesel to fuel its operations. With climate change considerations, commitments to limit environmental impacts and rising diesel costs, there was a strong business case for Glencore to explore renewable energy solutions. With the mine situated in the Canadian Arctic, which harbours some of the world’s richest wind resource, Glencore set out to diversify its energy mix with wind as a means of improving sustainability, reducing emissions and cutting costs. The project was unprecedented in scale, and was specially designed for severe Arctic climate conditions.
Acting as a robust duo, together the two wind turbines are forecasted to produce about 10% of the mine’s total energy, save approximately 4.4 million litres of diesel fuel annually, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 12,000 tonnes – the equivalent of taking 2,700 vehicles off the road.