Namibia, Angola eye reviving Kunene hydropower plans

NEW life is being breathed into plans to develop a hydropower station on the lower Kunene River – with the Baynes site in Angola set to become the subject of fresh studies.

“Angola needs power; Namibia needs power; SADC needs power, so the development of a hydropower station on the Kunene is gaining momentum,” NamPower MD Leake Hangala told The Namibian yesterday ahead of the start of the Namibia-Angola Permanent Joint Technical Commission (PJTC) meeting in Windhoek. Both delegations would be in a position to make recommendations to their respective governments very soon, he said, noting that the meeting planned to discuss terms of reference for studies to determine the feasibility of a mid-merit (peaking) power station at Baynes.After studies of the development of a power station at Epupa sparked widespread controversy during the late 1990s because of the environmental and social disruptions it would cause, Namibia put the project on the backburner while it investigated other power supply options.Now, Angola appears to have convinced Namibia that its preferred option from the start, the Baynes site, is the way to go for developing a power supply source on the Kunene River.In the past, Namibia has not been overly keen on the Baynes site, maintaining that the project would be too small to be viable.But yesterday Hangala and Angola’s National Director for Water Affairs, Armindo Gomes da Silva, presented a very united front on pursuing the Baynes option.”My government agreed that Baynes is the solution for the first investment in the lower Kunene.We respect the social and environmental issues in this region,” Da Silva told The Namibian.New studies of the Baynes site will focus on the development of a peaking power station that would have a lower dam and have larger machines installed than the base-load station that was investigated earlier.The pre- and full-feasibility studies are estimated at US$3,5 million.The capital costs of the project will only be known on completion of the study.Da Silva said projects in the Kunene could be better pursued now that the war in Angola was over and the rehabilitation of the Gove Dam was on track.The Chinese have secured the work of rehabilitating the dam.A Namibian contingent visited the site two weeks ago to assess recent developments.Namibia and Angola jointly completed a study for the development of a 360-megawatt base-load power station at Baynes in 1997.A base-load power plant provides a steady flow of power regardless of total power demand by the grid.These plants run at all times throughout the year.The dam site for this scheme would be located approximately 40 kilometres downstream of Epupa Falls.Peaking stations, on the other hand, are less reliant on large storage dams and are only activated when electricity demands are at their highest, such as in winter.Project documents for the new study posted on NamPower’s website earlier this month envisage the pre-feasibility stage to be completed by next July, while full feasibility studies could take until August 2008.If the project goes ahead, it will only be completed by 2017.Following earlier studies on the development of hydropower on the Kunene, Baynes was not Namibia’s natural choice because of its smaller storage capacity and dependency on regulation by the Gove Dam.Angola pushed for the Baynes site because it would improve their chances of obtaining international funds to renovate the Gove Dam, while also bringing development to former battlefields in the Huambo area.The Baynes site was found to have less environmental impact than Epupa because it is situated in a narrow gorge, which would cause it to have a much smaller inundation area and consequently less evaporation.Other projects under discussion by the two countries at the PJTC meeting, which wraps up today, are those involving the Gove, Caleque and Matala dams, as well as transboundary water supply in the Cuvelai area.Both delegations would be in a position to make recommendations to their respective governments very soon, he said, noting that the meeting planned to discuss terms of reference for studies to determine the feasibility of a mid-merit (peaking) power station at Baynes.After studies of the development of a power station at Epupa sparked widespread controversy during the late 1990s because of the environmental and social disruptions it would cause, Namibia put the project on the backburner while it investigated other power supply options.Now, Angola appears to have convinced Namibia that its preferred option from the start, the Baynes site, is the way to go for developing a power supply source on the Kunene River.In the past, Namibia has not been overly keen on the Baynes site, maintaining that the project would be too small to be viable.But yesterday Hangala and Angola’s National Director for Water Affairs, Armindo Gomes da Silva, presented a very united front on pursuing the Baynes option.”My government agreed that Baynes is the solution for the first investment in the lower Kunene.We respect the social and environmental issues in this region,” Da Silva told The Namibian.New studies of the Baynes site will focus on the development of a peaking power station that would have a lower dam and have larger machines installed than the base-load station that was investigated earlier.The pre- and full-feasibility studies are estimated at US$3,5 million.The capital costs of the project will only be known on completion of the study.Da Silva said projects in the Kunene could be better pursued now that the war in Angola was over and the rehabilitation of the Gove Dam was on track.The Chinese have secured the work of rehabilitating the dam.A Namibian contingent visited the site two weeks ago to assess recent developments.Namibia and Angola jointly completed a study for the development of a 360-megawatt base-load power station at Baynes in 1997.A base-load power plant provides a steady flow of power regardless of total power demand by the grid.These plants run at all times throughout the year.The dam site for this scheme would be located approximately 40 kilometres downstream of Epupa Falls.Peaking stations, on the other hand, are less reliant on large storage dams and are only activated when electricity demands are at their highest, such as in winter.Project documents for the new study posted on NamPower’s website earlier this month envisage the pre-feasibility stage to be completed by next July, while full feasibility studies could take until August 2008.If the project goes ahead, it will only be completed by 2017.Following earlier studies on the development of hydropower on the Kunene, Baynes was not Namibia’s natural choice because of its smaller storage capacity and dependency on regulation by the Gove Dam.Angola pushed for the Baynes site because it would improve their chances of obtaining international funds to renovate the Gove Dam, while also bringing development to former battlefields in the Huambo area.The Baynes site was found to have less environmental impact than Epupa because it is situated in a narrow gorge, which would cause it to have a much smaller inundation area and consequently less evaporation.Other projects under discussion by the two countries at the PJTC meeting, which wraps up today, are those involving the Gove, Caleque and Matala dams, as well as transboundary water supply in the Cuvelai area.