SA firm to develop hydro power plant

SOUTH African investment firm Ngonyezi Projects has signed a US$400 million deal with the Zimbabwe National Water Authority (ZINWA) to construct a pumped-storage hydro-electricity plant at Osborne Dam in Manicaland.
The 2 000 megawatt (MW) hydro-electric energy storage (PHES) power plant will be coupled with a 300MW solar photovoltaic plant valued at US$300 million.
Tomas Persson, the Ngonyezi Projects executive director, said the new power plant will help ease Zimbabwe’s energy crisis.
“The PHES storage enable additional Solar PV to be introduced to the grid/market. If you have peak consumption when it is dark, you need storage and pumped storage hydro is the most affordable and the combination of solar and PHES involves less risk than additional hydro,” Persson said.
The southern African nation, which requires at least 2200MW of electricity daily, is experiencing acute power shortages due to declining water levels at Kariba Dam and intermittent breakdowns at Hwange Thermal Power Station resulting in the generation of at less 1000MW. This has seen the country facing 18 hours of loadshedding.
Persson said a combination of hydro and solar will allow the solar plant to, on sunny days, provide electricity to the population, and when the weather is either bad or it is night, the pumped storage power station takes over.
“Also, the fact that the solar panels are covering the dam’s water surface will save some 20-million cubic water, by reducing evaporation,” he said, adding that the company is now looking for investors to develop the project.
Implementation of the solar PV plant is expected to take less than a year after the project enablers are given a go-ahead, while that of the PHES plant could take up to five years.
This hydroelectric power plant, the first of its kind in the country, will provide backup support for the national power grid. It is launched during peak hours when network capacity declines.
According to Ngonyezi Projects, the peak in electricity consumption is observed for 8,5 hours a day in Zimbabwe.
To obtain a solar power plant capable of supplying 300 MW, Ngonyezi Projects will install 500 hectares of panels on the surface of the Osborn Dam.
Following the completion of the pumped storage project, Zimbabwe will become the second country in Africa with pumped storage, after South Africa.
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