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dam-l African grid/LS
The following reveals a bit about the Hydrodreams of modern engineers for
Africa.
African Power Projects
>Engineering News, May 23-29 1997
>
>Eskom is bidding for some 75 percent of the power supply operation of
>Zambian Consolidated Copper Mines (ZCCM). The ZCCM system lies in the
>Copperbelt region of northern Zambia and comprises mainly transmission and
>distribution lines and equipment. Because of its location, the ZCCM system
>could play a pivotal role in the supply of electricity throughout Southern
>Africa, says Eskom media relations manager Peter Adams. Gaining control of
>the system could allow Eskom to influence the development of the Southern
>African power grid to a considerable degree.
>
>The bid has been made possible by the South African Reserve Bank, which
>has decided that it is prepared to allow Eskom to invest in neighbouring
>countries provided certain conditions are met. However, ZCCM is proceeding
>cautiously with the sale and a decision on the winning bidder is not
>expected soon; indeed the original deadline is long past. Eskom's rivals
>for the system include Midland Electric of the UK and Tractebel of the US.
>The bid by Eskom is the latest stage in its policy of developing Southern
>Africa cooperation in the area of electricity generation and supply, which
>originated in the 1980s but was hampered by the prevailing politics of the
>time.
>
>However, Eskom's early feelers on the subject met with an enthusiastic
>response from other electricity authorities in the region. The changes in
>domestic and regional politics since then cleared the way and in 1995 the
>12 member countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
>signed an enabling memorandum for the creation of a Southern African Power
>Pool (SAPP). The aim of the SAPP is to allow the member states to trade
>electrical power among themselves, which will require the construction of
>high-capacity electrical transmission lines to connect the various
>national grids to each other, thus creating a Southern African grid.
>
>Such a grid would ensure against crippling power shortages anywhere in
>Southern Africa by allowing the transfer of electricity from countries
>with a surplus to countries with a deficit. At the moment the SADC
>countries plus Zaire have an excess generating capacity of about 10 000
>MW, but this is not evenly spread across the region - some countries
>suffer from shortages. Furthermore, this excess will not last for ever;
>the needs of the region's future economic growth have to be met. The
>states in the north of the region rely on hydroelectric power, which can
>be crippled by drought, while those in the south use coal-powered
>generating plant, which is highly polluting.
>
>A regional grid would not only allow mutual aid, reducing all countries
>problems, but could also allow low-polluting natural gas, which has been
>found in Namibia and Mozambique, to be used to generate electricity for
>the region. However, a grid such as this is not a single project with an
>easily-defined starting date or finishing date, warns Adams. Rather, there
>is a collection of projects, each of which will cost hundreds of millions
>of rands. At present, South Africa is connected with Namibia, Botswana,
>Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mozambique and Lesotho. Zambia is connected with
>Zaire and Zimbabwe. To create one grid, a number of projects have been
>proposed and, in some cases, carried out.
>
>The transmission line from South Africa to Zimbabwe via Botswana has been
>completed, the rehabilitation of the Cahora Bassa line has nearly been
>finished, and the new line from Cahora Bassa to Harare is well under way,
>with completion expected later this year. Other projects are in their
>early stages. Namibia has completed surveys and issued tenders for the new
>400 kV line between it and South Africa. Surveys have also been done for
>the proposed Epupa hydroelectric scheme on the Cunene river between Angola
>and Namibia and for the Batoka Gorge upstream of the Kariba scheme on the
>Zambezi between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
>
>Nevertheless, both these proposals remain medium- to long-term projects,
>with medium term being conceived as being from five to ten years, and
>long-term more than ten years. Other proposals, for a line from Zambia to
>Tanzania, another line from Namibia to Angola, and for north-south
>interconnectors to link Angola's three separate electricity systems, are
>all long-term projects at best. The same applies to the Kafue lower
>hydroelectric scheme in Zambia, and the Shire hydro proposal in Malawi,
>while the idea of another hydro project at Mpande Uncua, downstream of
>Cahora Bassa in Mozambique, is not economically viable at the moment.
>
>While the potential of hydroelectric power at Inga in Zaire is very
>exciting - it could generate between 50 000 MW and 120 000 MW depending on
>the load factor, which could supply the needs of the whole of Africa and
>leave a surplus for export to Europe and Asia - it remains very much a
>proposal at present. That is also the case with suggestions to double-up
>the converter stations at Inga and Kolwezi in Zaire and to strengthen the
>transmission line from Inga to Zambia. The development of the Southern
>African grid will require an enormous amount of money, but international
>lenders may be reassured by the fact that only economically justifiable
>projects will be implemented, and by Eskom's willingness to act as project
>manager and consultant. After all, Eskom has a first-class record as
>borrower, Adams points out.
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Lori Pottinger, Director, Southern Africa Program,
and Editor, World Rivers Review
International Rivers Network
1847 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, California 94703, USA
Tel. (510) 848 1155 Fax (510) 848 1008
http://www.irn.org
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