NextSource Materials Announces Completion of 2.6MW Solar Farm at Molo Graphite Mine in Madagascar

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 6, 2023 / NextSource Materials Inc. (TSX:NEXT)(OTCQB:NSRCF) ("NextSource" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that construction of the solar farm for the solar hybrid power plant (the "Solar Hybrid Plant") at the Company's Molo Graphite mine in Madagascar has been completed.

The Solar Hybrid Plant is owned and operated by CrossBoundary Energy (CBE) under a 20-year power purchase agreement and consists of the 2.6 MW solar farm, a 3.1 MW thermal facility (diesel generators installed prior to mine commissioning), and a 1 MWh battery energy storage system ("BESS"), which is expected to arrive in the next few weeks.

The solar farm was constructed by CBE using local labour and comprises a total of 4,902 photovoltaic panels, covering 12,663 square metres, installed on ballasted mounting systems. The 2.6 MW solar farm is expected to produce approximately 4 GWh of clean energy per year, reducing the mine's all-in sustaining costs, and is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 2,275 tonnes annually. Final electrical interconnections between the solar farm with the mine are now underway and are expected to be completed within the coming weeks.

The Solar Hybrid Plant is designed to generate 33% of the Molo mine's steady-state power requirements from renewable energy. The solar facility together with load balancing provided by the BESS will be capable of supplying up to 100% of the plant's power requirements during peak daylight hours, with the thermal facility supplying all off peak power requirements, thereby ensuring an uninterrupted power supply to the mine.

Foto: Accesswire

Solar Farm with Molo Mine in Background

NextSource and CBE are committed to optimizing the solar component and increasing the amount of renewable energy available to the mine, which would include the expansion of the solar farm and the potential addition of wind turbines. In support of this, CBE has installed a wind measuring LIDAR device to evaluate the wind resource at the site and studying the feasibility of adding wind generation in the short term. As part of any potential future expansion of the Molo mine, the Company has set a goal of increasing the percentage generated by renewable power to at least 50 percent.