Assessment of Energy Efficiency Projects at Russian Mining Enterprises within the Framework of Sustainable Development

The mining industry is a basic sector of the Russian economy. Sustainable Development Goals appear in the strategies of mining companies and are ensured, inter alia, by increasing the energy efficiency of enterprises and plants within their structure through the implementation of projects. The lack of generally accepted criteria for assessing energy efficiency determines the need to develop a methodology that would allow taking into account the contribution of the results of projects of different scales and levels of implementation to improve the energy efficiency of the mining enterprise and the company as a whole. The purpose of the study is to develop a methodology for the comprehensive assessment of projects aimed at improving the energy efficiency of mining enterprises in the context of sustainable development. The research method is based on establishing a logical relationship between the goals of sustainable development, the principles of the “energy trilemma”, criteria and results of the implementation of projects aimed at improving the energy efficiency of the mining enterprise, taking into account the systematization of these projects. The authors develop a methodology for assessing projects related to the energy efficiency of mining enterprises. The methodology is based on a two-level system of criteria: the first-level criteria characterize the degree of realization of project objectives in accordance with the goals of sustainable development and the principles of the “energy trilemma”. The first-level criteria consist of the following: economic efficiency, ecological performance, reliability and safety, and flexibility. The second-level criteria characterize the economic results of the project based on the assessment of its economic efficiency. In order to provide a comprehensive economic assessment of various project outcomes, a set of indicators is proposed. The assessment of this methodology has been tested using the example of projects implemented at the mining enterprise “Albazinsky GOK” (mining and processing complex). Implementation of a comprehensive project, including the transition to a centralized power supply source, installation of a wind generator, photovoltaic installation, and energy storage system, will allow the enterprise to reduce CO2 emissions by 100% and increase the flexibility of the enterprise’s power system by 33%. The economic effect will amount to RUB 1252.5 mln (due to savings on electricity costs). The obtained results can be used by managers of mining companies to select and assess projects aimed at improving energy efficiency.