Total renewables unit targets Africa's power-starved mining sector

By Joe Bavier

ABIDJAN, March 19 (Reuters) - Total's renewableenergy unit said on Monday it had opened the world's largestsolar-thermal hybrid plant in Burkina Faso, the first of what ithopes will be many projects supplying the African miningindustry's growing need for power.

Total Eren and Africa-focused independent power producerAEMP inaugurated Essakane Solar over the weekend, adding 15megawatts (MW) of solar capacity to an existing 57-MW heavy fueloil power plant at Toronto-listed IAMGOLD's Essakanemine.

Christophe Fleurence, Total Eren's vice-president forbusiness development in Africa, told Reuters the plan was toreplicate this with other mining projects.

"It's gathering pace in terms of interest in all thediscussions we've had with our contacts in the mining industry,"Fleurence said. He declined to give details of potential futuredeals.

Mining companies operating in remote areas have long reliedon thermal power plants, making their operationscarbon-intensive and their costs vulnerable to fluctuations inworld oil prices.

As the price of photovoltaic panels has dropped in recentyears, several mining operations have added solar capacity tohelp cut power costs. However, most of those projects have beenrelatively small.

The Essakane plant, made up of nearly 130,000 solar panels,is expected to decrease the mine's fuel consumption by some 6million litres per year and reduce CO2 emissions by around18,500 tonnes per year.

The gold mine will buy the entirety of the plant'sproduction via a 15-year power purchasing agreement signed witha special-purpose company in which Total Eren owns a 90 percentstake. AEMP, Total Eren's strategic partner for its industrialand mining business in Africa, holds the remaining 10 percent.

"We do see this as likely to be adopted more and more goingforward," AEMP co-founder Richard Duffy said. "We talk to anumber of mining companies. We have various projects in thepipeline - some of them not dissimilar to Essakane."

He said future projects were not at a stage where he couldprovide further details.

Bruised by pressure on oil prices in recent years and insearch of new long-term revenue sources, France's Total hasintensified its push into renewable energy.

It paid 237.5 million euros ($292 million) in September toacquire a 23 percent stake in solar and wind energy producerEREN RE, changing its name to Total Eren. It has a five-yearoption to acquire full control of the business.($1 = 0.8128 euros)(Reporting by Joe BavierEditing by Tim Cocks and Dale Hudson)