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Repairs begin on massive Congo hydroelectric dam
Source: Reuters
By Willy Kabwe
INGA FALLS, Congo, April 28 (Reuters) - Work has begun to repair a massive hydroelectric power station in Congo which, if fully developed, could produce enough electricity to make blackouts across Africa a thing of the past.
The Inga plant, the largest single hydropower initiative in the world, was one of the few investments made in the vast central African country by former dictator Mobutu Sese Seko but has suffered from years of neglect.
Engineers say the site, where the giant Congo River drops 100 metres, has the potential to produce at least 50,000 megawatt (MW) of electricity but lack of maintenance means its current two stations produce just 700 MW.
"On its own, it constitutes the solution to the energy deficit that the whole African continent is suffering from," Democratic Republic of Congo Energy Minister Salomon Bananuhere said late on Thursday.
"Its realisation will increase in one fell swoop the levels of access to electricity for our populations," he told a ceremony at the start of a project to rehabilitate the site.
The Congo River is the second most voluminous in the world after the Amazon and twists its way above and below the equator, meaning its flow is stable, ideal for power generation, as parts of its watershed experience rainy seasons at different times.
The Inga plant currently has two power stations, Inga I and Inga II, with an installed potential of 1,774 MW, but plans are being developed for a third and fourth phase once the rehabilitation of its existing turbines is completed.
Even at its current capacity, Inga has for years supplied power to Congo -- a vast country the size of Western Europe -- as well as to the Southern Africa Power Pool, which includes South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
HINDRANCE TO DEVELOPMENT
Lack of reliable electricity supply is a major obstacle to economic development for the world's poorest continent, with frequent power outages leaving businesses reliant on generators even in many of its more developed states.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, is severely short of power despite being a major oil producer, generating roughly just 2,600 MW despite needs estimated at between two to four times that.
MagEnergy Inc., a unit of Canada's MagIndustries Corp. <MAAn.V> which is leading the initial repair work at Inga, has said it plans to invest $200 million in the rehabilitation.
"We've not come here to sell promises and dreams, we've come to realise something concrete," said Georges Kyriakos, MagEnergy's Vice President for Development.
Fast-rising demand, especially in southern Africa, has encouraged plans to develop additional capacity at Inga -- built in the 1970s and 1980s at a cost of almost $2 billion -- and bring total production to 29,000 MW within a few years.
The next stage of development, known as Inga 3, is being discussed by a joint venture involving the governments of Congo, Angola, Namibia and South Africa and is expected to be up and running by 2012, MagEnergy said on its Web site.
The final stage -- known as Grand Inga -- aims to produce additional capacity of some 40,000 MW. (Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon in Abuja)
Source: Wikipedia
Inga Falls is a location in the Congo where the Congo River drops 100 metres.
Currently, two dams there, Inga I and Inga II, are inactive, but the World Bank, among other groups, is contemplating investing as much as 500 million dollars into rehabilitating them. Also, a plan for Inga III, a massive hydroelectric station, the construction of which would cost approximately 6 billion dollars, is currently being discussed. Projections indicate that Inga III would generate 39000 megawatts of electricity- enough to satisfy the energy needs for the entire African continent.
The existing dams are famous white elephants of former Président Mobutu Sese Seko.
Source: WWD
This is a rapids that loses 315' of elevation in about 9 miles. Like Boyoma Falls, this might be stretching the acceptable definition of a falls. Since the falls are the target of an immense hydroelectric (40,000 Megawatts!) facility (still in the pre-planning stages--provided the corruption issue in regional politics is taken care of) this may be a moot point. The proposed scheme is to be a "run of the river" project, which means that flow is diverted as opposed to massive damming. Credit acknowledged to Encyclopædia Britannica from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service: "At a sharp bend in the river between Sikila Island and the mouth of the Bundi River (a Congo River tributary), the Congo falls 315 feet (96 m) in 9 miles (14 km) and flows at a rate of about 1,500,000 cubic feet (43,000 cubic m) per second." Further research shows a roughly 2.5 million cfs figure as the 100 year event which means a factor of 1.7 x mean flow can be postulated. The Oasis Foundation measurements show a figure slightly less than those quoted by Britannica, but one and a quarter million cfs is still an astounding volume of water. The link below doesn't have a photo of the falls, but it does have "before" and "after" topographical images that show the magnitude of the project.
Picture of Inga Falls from 18 miles altitude