Analysis of the energy matrix decarbonization in the operation of the large mining power distribution systems: The Chilean case

As part of the fight against climate change that involves the whole planet, Chile since 2018 has embarked on a plan for the progressive closure/conversion of the country's coal-fired thermal power plants that will end by 2040. This decarbonization process involves increasing use of renewable energy technologies for the production of electricity, causing changes in the behaviour of the country's electricity system. The object of the research is to study the effects of this change on the temporal evolution of the equivalent impedance of the network at the busbars feeding three of the most important mines of the country. For one of them, the future suitability of the harmonic filtering system present today in the plant was assessed. The analysis was carried out by simulation using the DIgSilent Power Factory software. The results obtained provided important indications, for the next decade, related to the resilience of the national electricity system (SEN) in the substations analyzed and the power quality of the distribution system at one representative mine.