By: Energy magazine

The Australian resources industry is becoming a harbinger of renewable energy adoption, as services companies increasingly provide accessible entry points for mining operators to decarbonise.

Founded on the goal of delivering high-quality, practical engineering solutions, ECG Engineering is strengthening its reputation in heavy industry circles.

The specialist electrical engineering consultancy intimately understands the mining landscape, and how to practicably integrate renewable energy solutions into intricate workflows. Its versatility and reputation for project delivery sees the company working with miners of all sizes.

This includes a lithium project in WA, whereby ECG has provided full electrical design and commissioning support for new substations and power distribution systems.

“We played a major part in the mine’s power system solution from pre-feasibility to commissioning,” ECG Engineering executive general manager Andy Griffin told Energy.

“A key problem for this project was meeting its renewable energy target, and ECG provided expert advice on how to achieve this utilising wind, solar and battery systems.”

ECG’s expert understanding of mining’s unique requirements, and the specific process plant demands that come with that, saw the consultancy optimise renewable integration without over-capitalising on wind or solar power.

“This ensured an optimal electricity cost, whilst keeping reliability to a high level and reducing the carbon footprint of the project,” Griffin said. “We continue to support this project to this day.”

ECG has provided energy solutions for Tier 1 nickel operations and diamond mines in Australia, to name a few, while the company has established a strong presence in Africa, recently opening a branch in South Africa to support its Tanzania office.

The company is an expert at mitigating risks from unreliable local power supply, including captive power plants and advanced technologies like battery storage to balance peak demand.

ECG has formed strong relationships with power station providers, enabling it to confidently oversee complex grid connections, ensuring compliance with local regulations and seamless integration into mining operations.

The company was engaged by a major miner in Tanzania to oversee the integration of a five-megawatt BESS at its gold operation.

The miner had been experiencing frequent unplanned grid outages due to its reliance on diesel generators for power across critical plant infrastructure, with the BESS solution providing a seamless source of back-up power.

ECG engineered the BESS to serve several roles, with the ability to operate in grid-following and -forming modes, respectively, to support normal grid operations, voltage disturbance events, and grid failures.

Importantly, the BESS enabled the miner to maintain plant operations during unforeseen grid outages.

This case study underlines ECG’s versatility and ability to tend to mining clients’ unique needs. The company understands the importance of maintaining power on-site and builds holistic solutions to ensure access to this critical resource isn’t, at any cost, lost.

Few companies globally offer the full scope of services ECG provides. Competitors may deliver some electrical and instrumentation services, but don’t match ECG’s depth of expertise or integrated delivery capability.

ECG delivers power solutions across the full project lifecycle, from feasibility studies and detailed design to procurement, construction management, commissioning, and ongoing operational support.

Specialising in bespoke engineering, ECG provides customised power system studies, optimisation, and energy security planning tailored to the unique needs of each mine site.

“ECG was born out of supporting mining projects and operations, and we take that experience and expertise when approaching our design,” Griffin said. “We pride ourselves on the expert advice we can provide to our clients, especially regarding integration of generation and renewable energy.”

With many mining companies globally increasingly decarbonising their operations, ECG has become a “go-to” provider to help miners navigate the energy revolution.

“Mining companies are increasingly recognising the economic and environmental benefits of renewables,” Griffin said. “With advancements in technology and growing pressure to decarbonise, we are seeing more hybrid energy systems, microgrids, and large-scale renewable deployments across the sector.

“ECG has developed a strong network with suppliers, contractors and power providers over the years. We see that building relationships in the industry is key to delivering good quality outcomes.”

To harness the opportunities that come with the energy transition, ECG said mining operators are “pushing the boundaries” to prove that emissions reduction targets can be achieved.

“Working with the WA lithium project, ECG was instrumental in delivering one of the highest off-grid renewable energy solutions for a mining project in Australia,” Griffin said.

“ECG has also been involved in large-scale renewable projects in Africa. This experience, and our relationships, translates to higher confidence in our client base that renewables are the way forward.

“This, in turn, is translating to higher uptake of renewables in the projects with which we are involved, which generates more exposure for our solutions and leads to more return work.

“We are in the foothills of the energy transition, and ECG is quickly becoming a pioneer of what future energy systems look like and how they can be practicably integrated.”

As ECG blazes a trail for other renewable aspirants to follow, the company isn’t sitting still, making strategic technology investments and bringing in more expertise to position itself for future growth.

“We’ve invested heavily in software to analyse renewables and power systems, and developed our own in-house tools specifically tailored to the specific industries and projects we’re involved in,” Griffin said.

“We’re recruiting more renewables experts and establishing more domain expertise as we support our clients through the energy transition.”

Starting off as a small group in Canning Vale ten years ago, ECG has, with now over 170 staff to its name, become a global company.

But, despite its growing size, ECG hasn’t lost sight of what’s most important – client support.

“We’re never afraid of taking on challenging projects, working with clients to understand their operations back-to-front before designing a solution that works best for them,” Griffin said.

“We hope to continue our development and growth, positioning ourselves for the expanding renewable investment that will continue for years to come.”