AWARD: BBA honoured for work at Raglan mine

MONT-SAINT-HILAIRE, Quebec – On Feb. 3, 2014, BBA received an Énergia honourable mention in the category of industrial or manufacturing processes with $5 million or more in energy costs per year. BBA successfully optimized the performance of the cogeneration plant at the Raglan copper mine in northern Quebec.

The project was conducted at the Katinniq site in Québec’s far north. The site’s cogeneration plant consists of six diesel generators. Buildings are heated by a centralized glycol-water system with over 2 km of piping that recovers energy from cooling jackets and generator exhaust. Two 8-MW diesel boilers are also used only to meet heating demand at peak periods or if the generators shut down. Although enough thermal energy was being produced by the generators, the recovery system fell short of meeting the heating load, even outside peak periods.

By increasing the capacity and efficiency of heat recovery, the project, which spanned from 2009 to 2012, cut diesel consumption by the boilers by 60% and slashed CO₂ emissions by 3,200 tonnes, boosting Raglan Mine’s environmental performance. The optimization also enhanced worker comfort and safety.

“This project involved high level technical and logistical challenges,” explained André Allaire, president of BBA. “The outcome shows the extent of our team’s expertise and our engineers’ commitment to reducing the energy bills and environmental footprint of our clients. We’re proud that this achievement has been recognized by the Association québécoise pour la maîtrise de l’énergie.”

Note that the work had to be performed during the Arctic summer – the only time when heating can be turned off for this kind of operation. This meant that to meet the mandate’s tight timelines, most of the design and fabrication work had to be carried out off-site. The project entailed a complex modular design as well as rigorous planning of logistics since materials could only be delivered to the site by plane or boat.

The Énergia competition is organized by the Association québécoise pour la maîtrise de l’énergie (AQME) to celebrate excellence in energy efficiency and energy management projects in the province of Québec.

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