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The Zimbabwean government has signed a US million deal with contractor Salini Impregilo to complete civil works on the 15-MW Tokwe-Mukosi hydropower plant. 
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Africa

Zimbabwe signs deal for Tokwe-Mukosi powerhouse construction

The Zimbabwean government has signed a US million deal with contractor Salini Impregilo to complete civil works on the 15-MW Tokwe-Mukosi hydropower plant. The Italian firm has been performing work at the African project for about the past decade.

Salini Impregilo officials said in March that the latest contract will see it perform the excavation for and construction of Tokwe-Mukosi’s powerhouse. The work is expected to take about three months.

The hydro project, on the Tokwe River just downstream of its confluence with the Mukosi River, has seen a number of stalls due to funding, environmental and political obstacles. Construction on the US$255 million facility resumed last March.

In fact, French design firm Coyne et Bellier was commissioned to provide a study for the plant in 1967.

Asia

Construction begins on 30-MW Nyadi, 36.6-MW Kabeli A projects in Nepal

Construction has begun on two hydro projects in Nepal, 30-MW Nyadi and 36.6-MW Kabeli A.

Construction of the Nyadi run-of-river project on the Nyadi River began March 23. Nyadi Hydropower Ltd., a joint venture between Butwal Power (97.22%) and Lamjung Electricity Development (2.78%), is the developer. China-based Zhejiang Hydropower Construction and Installation is handling the civil, hydromechanical and electromechanical work for the project, which is expected to begin commercial operation in 2020.

Electricity generated will be sold to the Nepal Electricity Authority. The estimated cost of the Nyadi project is INR6 billion (US$91.8 million).

Construction of Kabeli A also began in late March with the laying of a foundation stone. The project, on the Kabeli River between the Panchthar and Taplejung districts, is being built to help alleviate the country’s energy deficit.

Kabeli A was one of several hydro projects shortlisted for funding by the World Bank in the late 1990s. The bank approved a US$84.6 million loan for its construction in May 2014, but delays have pushed the anticipated completion date to 2020.

North America

Increased cost, delayed commissioning announced for 695-Keeyask in Manitoba

Keeyask Hydropower Limited Partnership (KHLP) has announced a significant increase in its budget and a revised commissioning date for the 695-MW Keeyask Generating Station under construction on the Nelson River in northern Manitoba, Canada.

The project cost is estimated at C$8.7 billion (US$6.5 billion), up from C$6.5 billion (US$4.8 billion). The original commissioning date of November 2019 has been revised to August 2021.

According to Manitoba Hydro, “The revised control budget reflects a more detailed review conducted by Manitoba Hydro [that] considered the current state of the project’s progress and costs incurred to date, including the results of the first full year of structural concrete work in 2016. The new budget includes an additional C$900 million (US$669 million) in contingency funds, interest and escalation. The utility believes these allowances are prudent to help address potential cost and schedule risks still present in the project.”

Latin America

Cemig loses authority to operate 424-MW Jaguara plant in Brazil

The Brazilian Supreme Court revoked the right of utility Cemig to operate the 424-MW Jaguara hydro plant. Cemig’s control of the project has been a subject of legal action since at least 2012, when the company’s concessions for the Jaguara, 1,710-MW Sao Simao and 408-MW Miranda plants were revoked for its refusal to agree with energy sector reforms enacted by former president Dilma Rousseff.

Brazil’s Supreme Court granted an injunction to Cemig in June 2013, allowing the company to maintain control of the project. This was challenged in June 2015 before courts again gave Cemig control of Jaguara via a temporary concession in December 2015.

The Brazilian government says it will hold a new auction for the Jaguara operating rights.

Europe

Research indicates massive global potential of hydropower

Hydropower has the theoretical potential to provide nearly a third of the annual global energy requirement, according to research from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

The researchers concluded that the gross theoretical hydropower potential is about 52 PWh (petawatt-hours, equivalent to 1,000 TWh) annually divided over 11.8 million locations. This is equal to nearly a third of the annually required energy of 164 PWh in 2011, while the present energy production by hydropower plants is just 3% of the annually required energy, the researchers say.

The study says the greatest contributor is Asia, which represents 48% of the global hydropower potential. The top 5 countries with the greatest hydropower potential annually were China at 7,168 TWh, Brazil at 3,630 TWh, Russia at 3,503 TWh, Canada at 3,064 TWh and the U.S. at 2,564 TWh.

Free products of this research are a raster file with all rivers and a point file with all potential hydropower locations.

Editor’s Note: Up-to-the-minute news on the global hydro market is available on HydroWorld.com. To read more news from a specific region, visit the World Regions page at www.hydroworld.com/world-regions.html.