Regional powerlines pave Africa’s future

Regional powerlines pave Africa’s future

Renewable energy projects and powerline connectivity are driving energy development in Africa.

Africa is becoming a busy place for renewable power projects, but another energy development is underway that has arguably even greater significance for the continent’s future: powerline connectivity.

Countries like Namibia and Angola are leveraging their competitive advantages in renewable energy sources.

According to Darryll Kilian, Partner and Principal Environmental Consultant at SRK Consulting South Africa (SA) this involves mainly solar and wind in Namibia, and hydropower in Angola.

“With its high-capacity factors in onshore wind and solar resources, Namibia is well placed not only to produce low-carbon electricity but also green hydrogen and its derivatives,” says Kilian.

This is preparing a foundation for various industrial opportunities that the country is exploring, including the production of green hot briquetted iron.

In neighbouring Angola, the list of proposed renewable projects include the ambitious Baynes Hydo Power Plant on the Kunene River, 48km downstream of the Epupa Falls. The project, which involves the building of a dam, would generate 600MW of power.

In-country and cross-border

Against this background Kilian says that there are multiple powerline projects underway in Angola, as the country gears up to distribute energy to the places where it is needed such as mining complexes and industrial hubs.

These internal connectors in turn create the potential for cross-border connections that would allow sharing of energy across the region.

Harnessing these renewable energy resources is great news for driving sustainable, diversified and inclusive growth in Africa as energy constraints have for many years been a serious brake on the continent’s potential.

“As important as generating power for their own use, however, is the ability of African countries to sell their power across their borders,” says Kilian.

Such a capability, which has been the focus of the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) since 1995, has many benefits, especially since the mushrooming of renewable energy generation technologies in recent decades.

While a more stable power supply in any country will unlock foreign and local investment to build the economy and create jobs, the availability of cross-border powerlines creates the potential to export electricity for those countries who can generate more than they currently need.

Supporting Africa’s energy progress

Kilian says that SRK Consulting has worked on various aspects of energy strategy and planning and is excited by the pace of development in energy infrastructure around the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The World Bank has invested almost USD30-million in a programme to accelerate the region’s energy projects. Among those projects seeing progress from this programme are the Mozambique–Malawi Interconnector which has reached financial close and construction stage, and both the Zambia–Tanzania Interconnector and the Angola–Namibia Interconnector having completed feasibility studies and environmental assessments.

Another 18 preparatory studies for 11 regional energy projects had also been completed.

Almost a decade ago, SRK Consulting were commissioned by the SAPP to develop an Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) to facilitate the screening of key power projects in line with lenders’ requirements. This has helped to speed up their implementation across the sub-continent.

This framework assisted projects to comply with the policies, standards and guidelines required by international financial institutions to safeguard environmental and social sustainability.

The ESMF also includes a suite of tools to guide officials through the environmental and social screening, scoping, assessment, management planning and monitoring processes. These tools include checklists, examples of management plans, and lists of national, regional and international environmental and social requirements.

Powerlines in Angola

Among the various in-country projects being planned in Angola is the Gove-Chipindo-Cuvango-Jamba Transmission Line Project, for which SRK has conducted the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA).

Powered by the Gove hydroelectric power plant, the project will include a new high voltage 220kV overhead line network of about 170km, through the municipalities of Jamba, Cuvango and Chipindo – to enhance the electrical infrastructure in Huíla and Huambo provinces.

According to Kavandren Moodley, principal environmental scientist at SRK Consulting SA who led the ESIA, these studies are critical in ensuring compliance with national and international standards, especially for lender-funded infrastructure.

“We conducted the ESIA in the context of the relevant Angolan laws and regulations, as well as global standards to which lenders wanted the project to be benchmarked. These included the International Financial Corporation’s Performance Standards, the Equator Principles, the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, and work-related standards of the International Labour Organisation,” he says.

“This highlights the complexity of the process”, he explains, “leading to an extensive collection of studies and plans which give comfort to the lender group that the project will be managed responsibly and successfully.”

Avoiding fatal flaws

In projects of this scale – where powerlines and related infrastructure typically involve substantial investments – it is vital for any fatal flaws on the environmental or social front to be identified as early as possible. Early detection allows sufficient time for project plans to be reviewed and adjusted, before significant resources are committed to detailed engineering.

By highlighting risks such as community displacement or natural biodiversity, the ESIA can provide valuable guidance to strategic decisions on project layout and routing of transmission lines.

“Early involvement – even at concept or pre-feasibility stage – is beneficial for the developer, as this avoids situations where legally required ESIAs reveal issues late in the process, forcing costly redesigns and delays,” he says. “Such adjustments invariably delay projects and incur unplanned expenditure.”

Kilian highlights that lenders are increasingly fastidious about risks including the position of indigenous populations, the vulnerability of communities and the management of biodiversity.

“Funders want to be sure that the major material risks in these powerline projects have been identified – and that strategies to mitigate those risks are in place,” he says. “That is why these impact assessments are so important – and must inform the design and construction phases.”

“Conducting high-quality ESIAs thoroughly and in good time – before the big engineering application decisions are made – ensures that Africa’s energy infrastructure can be rolled out without delay,” Kilian concludes.

Regional powerlines pave Africa’s future