Photo retrieved from: www.afronline.org
“The Grand Inga project has the potential to be the largest hydroelectric project in the world, dwarfing even the Three Gorges dam in China, and could make a significant contribution not only to addressing SA’s energy needs but also to providing millions of people in other countries with access to electricity.
It has the capacity to generate 40000MW of electricity — more than SA’s current generation.
The South African government’s integrated resource plan makes provision for imported hydro power, and Ms Peters said during a panel discussion during the World Economic Forum on Africa that the quantity imported could be amended if circumstances changed.
However, development of the $80bn Grand Inga project has been hamstrung for many years by a lack of finance, and by political risk and instability . But the World Bank, the African Development Bank and other investors have expressed interest in investing in the project.
Currently, the two dams on the Inga Falls — the largest in the world, situated about 140km outside Kinshasa — operate at a low output of about 1000MW.
Ms Peters indicated that work was being undertaken by the government and scientists on clean coal technologies to reduce the carbon emissions from SA’s coal-fired power stations, which provide the bulk of the country’s electricity.”
Read more: Business Day
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