# Hybrid Wind-Redox Flow Battery System for Decarbonizing Off-Grid Mining Operations
## 7 Conclusions and Perspectives  
This study explores the decarbonization of the Raglan mining site by expanding its wind farm and integrating a redox flow battery energy storage system. To set the record straight, a brief comparison of different energy storage technologies is also presented and discussed. In the first phase, we analyzed wind potential data at the Raglan site to assess the feasibility of installing additional wind turbines that could replace the site's diesel generators, which currently meet its electrical needs. The second phase focused on identifying the technical requirements for sizing and implementing the storage system, particularly by analyzing the site's electrical and thermal demand. These factors are essential to ensure optimal operation of the combined wind-battery system. A hybrid simulation model, consisting of four sub-models, was developed using MATLAB and Excel. The model evaluated various scenarios, including  
Full or partial decommissioning of diesel generators;  
The number of additional E-115 wind turbines to be added;  
The ideal energy storage capacity of the redox flow battery. Each scenario was assessed using two key economic indicators: the levelized cost of Energy (LCOE) and the Levelized Cost of Storage (LCOS). The results indicate that completely removing diesel generators is currently not feasible, primarily because some processes, such as ore drying, depend on the residual heat from diesel engines. Consequently, maintaining at least two generators in continuous operation is necessary. The study also highlights the significant cost of implementing redox flow batteries under current market conditions. The LCOS, estimated at 7831 CAD/MWh, is high due to the price and infrastructure requirements of the storage system. As a result, battery utilization remains low, making the widespread integration of redox storage at Raglan technically possible but economically challenging under current conditions. While this work demonstrates the techno-economic feasibility of integrating wind energy and redox storage for decarbonization, it does not address the grid stability or power quality issues, such as voltage fluctuations, frequency regulation, grid inertia, and stability during high renewable penetration. These aspects are crucial for ensuring reliable and safe operation, particularly in remote and weather-exposed environments such as Raglan. They will be investigated in future work using dynamic power system simulation tools. Additionally, model results were compared with literature benchmarks for validation. While the current model is robust, further work is needed to refine the operating parameters and reduce reliance on assumptions. This will ensure more accurate and scalable projections for wind integration. Future studies will focus on the following aspects:  
* Detailed sensitivity and uncertainty analysis of key parameters (wind variability, energy demand, climate trends);
* Probabilistic modeling to assess long-term performance and reliability under varying environmental and operational conditions;
* Power system simulations to evaluate voltage and frequency stability under high-renewable-integration scenarios. These next steps will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the technical and economic dynamics of large-scale decarbonization of remote industrial sites. Conceptualization, A.R. and D.R.R. ; methodology, A.R., D.R.R., B.-J.R.M.B. and A.I. ; software, A.R. ; validation, D.R.R. and B.-J.R.M.B. ; formal analysis, A.R., D.R.R., B.-J.R.M.B. and A.I. ; investigation, A.R. and D.R.R. ; resources, D.R.R. ; data curation, A.R. ; writing--original draft preparation, A.R., D.R.R. and B.-J.R.M.B. ; writing--review and editing, D.R.R. and A.I. ; visualization, A.R. and B.-J.R.M.B. ; supervision, D.R.R. ; project administration, D.R.R. ; funding acquisition, D.R.R. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. The authors thank Glencore and Hatch industrial partners for their support during this project.