Water purified by solar system

A reliable supply of energy still remains one of the more important, yet expensive components of running any mine and that’s why owners and operators are constantly looking for alternative ways to provide power to the pits.

Direct hydro-electric connections are often rare and diesel-generated power is expensive so because of those factors, many companies are taking a closer look now than ever before at their options; namely wind and in particular, solar power.

Recognizing that the latter, solar power, is one of the more viable alternatives in today’s technological world, SunPower Corp has just installed a massive solar-cell collector system at its fabrication plant in Malaysia to demonstrate how solar energy cannot only generate power but that it can also be used to help purify water… another key requirement in mining.

Working with GE Power & Water, SunPower-AUO has built the largest silicon solar manufacturing factory in the world equipped with an ultra-pure water system designed by GE to save more than 230 million gallons of water relative to other technologies; sufficient to meet the daily water needs of more than 8300 community residents.

GE designed, built and installed its system featuring an internationally patented, high-efficiency reverse osmosis (HERO) process capable of providing 2400 gpm of clean water. In addition to this installation, GE Energy (comprised of GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil & Gas) provides integrated product and service solutions in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy.