Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station

The Kapichira Power Station is a hydroelectric power plant at the Kapachira Falls on the Shire River in Malawi. It has an installed capacity of 128 megawatts (172,000 hp), enough to power over 86,000 homes, with four 32 megawatts (43,000 hp) generating sets. The power station was developed in stages, with the first phase involving the installation of the first two 32 megawatts-generating turbines. Phase I of the power station was officially opened in September 2000.[1]

Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station
Kapachira Falls including the Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station
Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station is located in Malawi
Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station
Map of Malawi showing the location of Kapichira HPP.
Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station is located in Africa
Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station
Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station (Africa)
Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station is located in Earth
Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station
Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station (Earth)
CountryMalawi
LocationKapachira Falls, Chikwawa District, Southern Region
Coordinates15°53′45″S 34°45′14″E
PurposePower
StatusOperational
Opening date2000
Construction costUS$153 million (Phase 1)
Owner(s)Government of Malawi
Operator(s)Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsShire River
Turbines4 x 32 MW
Installed capacity128 megawatts (172,000 hp)

In January 2014, in a ceremony attended by the president of Malawi at that time, Joyce Banda, the second phase of the Kapichira hydropower project was switched on, doubling the hitherto 64 megawatts to the maximum capacity of 128 megawatts.[2]

Location

The power station is located across the Shire River, in Chikwawa District, in the Southern Region of Malawi, approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi), by road, south-west of Blantyre, the financial capital and largest city in the country.[3][4] The geographical coordinates of this power station are: 15°53'45.0"S, 34°45'14.0"E (Latitude:-15.895833; Longitude:34.753889).[5]

Overview

Each unit operates at a nominal head of 54 metres (177 ft) and discharge of 67 cubic metres per second (2,400 cu ft/s). The power station was built in two phases, with the first phase completed in 2000.[6] The second phase with the same capacity of 64 megawatts (86,000 hp) as the first phase, was completed in 2014 and was commissioned on 31 January 2018.[2]

Construction

The first phase of the power station was built with funds borrowed from several international development partners, including (a) KfW (b) the European Investment Bank (c) the Commonwealth Development Corporation and (d) the World Bank (e) the Netherlands Development Finance Company. The development partners jointly loaned US$131.1 million and the government of Malawi invested US$21.9 million, for a total of US$153 million.[7] The second phase was contracted to China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) and included the installation of two new turbines, each of capacity generation of 32 megawatts. Work was completed in January 2014.[2]

Storm damage and repairs

On 24 January 2022, Tropical Storm Ana struck the dam and power station, causing catastrophic damage, leading to closure of the installation. This led to the loss of an estimated 130 MW of generation capacity, equivalent to about 30 percent of national output.[8]

In June 2022, Lazarus Chakwera, the president of Malawi, announced that the World Bank had lent Malawi MWK:60 billion (US$60 million) to repair and rehabilitate Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station. Following these repairs, it is expected that the new generation capacity will be 135 megawatts.[9]

See also

References
  1. Global Energy Observatory (15 April 2018). "Global Energy Observatory: Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Plant Malawi". Globalenergyobservatory.org. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  2. HydroWorld (31 January 2014). "Malawi commissions Kapichira hydropower plant expansion". Hydroworld.com. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  3. Earthtech.com (3 March 2016). "Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station". Earthtech.com. Archived from the original (Archived from the Original) on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  4. Google (13 June 2022). "Road Distance Between Blantyre, Malawi And Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  5. Google (15 April 2015). "Location of Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  6. Malawi Nation Online (22 January 2013). "Kapichira II Power Plant to Spur Business Growth". The Nation (Malawi). Blantyre. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  7. KfW (1995). "Malawi: Kapichira Hydropower Plant, Ex-Post Evaluation" (PDF). Entwicklungsbank-Startseite. Berlin, Germany. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  8. Lameck Masina (6 February 2022). "Malawi Loses 30% of Its Electricity to Tropical Storm Ana". Voice of America. Washington DC, United States. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  9. Fazilla Tembo (7 June 2022). "Govt Secures K60bn From World Bank to Rehabilitate the Damaged Kapichira Hydro Power". Nyasa Times. Lilongwe, Malawi. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
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