International roundtable looks at building the world's largest dam in Congo
Earlier we sketched the huge but unrealised potential of the Inga dam on the Congo river in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since the 1970s, engineers have been dreaming of building a dam at the natural rapids some 100 kilometres downstream of the capital Kinshasa. In theory, the 'Grand Inga' would be the world's largest. With its 42,000MW capacity it would be bigger than the Three Gorges (18,000MW) and the Itaipu (14,000MW) combined. The dam could power Africa out of energy poverty, and would even sell excess electricity to Europe and the Middle East.
We referred to the Inga project in the context of biofuels, for a clear reason. The countries bordering the Congo river - the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo - are all potential biofuels superpowers. The Congo river would be the main transport hub bringing biofuels and biomass downstream to Kinshasa, where the green feedstocks would be converted into finished products, notably liquid fuels. But the conversion of biomass requires energy itself, which is why Inga is so important: abundant and cheap electricity would make Congo-basin biofuels very competitive and ready for export to the world market. Of course, for the time being this is a futuristic scenario and much has to be done to turn it into a reality (earlier post).
The first step is being taken, though. Some of the continent's major financial and political bodies are organising an international round table in Johannesburg, South Africa, from October 5-6 in order to arouse donor interest in the hydroelectric potential of the Inga in the Nkokolo valley in the DRC. The African Development Bank (ADB), the African Union (AU), and the the New Partnership for the Development of Africa (NEPAD) are the main organisers and have summarized the objectives of the round table as follows:
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: hydroelectric :: dam :: Inga :: Congo :: Africa ::
The African Development Bank carried out a study between 1993-1998 to evaluate the feasibility and viability of power interconnectivity between the Inga in DRC, Egypt, the Central African Republic, Chad and Sudan. The World Bank has just completed a study on the rehabilitation of the existing infrastructure, and the ADB is planning a holistic study that will look at the viability of further development of the site.
More than 60 representatives from governments, international organizations, public sectors, private sector, donor agencies, development partners, NGOs and the civil society are expected to participate in the round table.
We referred to the Inga project in the context of biofuels, for a clear reason. The countries bordering the Congo river - the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo - are all potential biofuels superpowers. The Congo river would be the main transport hub bringing biofuels and biomass downstream to Kinshasa, where the green feedstocks would be converted into finished products, notably liquid fuels. But the conversion of biomass requires energy itself, which is why Inga is so important: abundant and cheap electricity would make Congo-basin biofuels very competitive and ready for export to the world market. Of course, for the time being this is a futuristic scenario and much has to be done to turn it into a reality (earlier post).
The first step is being taken, though. Some of the continent's major financial and political bodies are organising an international round table in Johannesburg, South Africa, from October 5-6 in order to arouse donor interest in the hydroelectric potential of the Inga in the Nkokolo valley in the DRC. The African Development Bank (ADB), the African Union (AU), and the the New Partnership for the Development of Africa (NEPAD) are the main organisers and have summarized the objectives of the round table as follows:
- to mobilize development partners’ support for the development and exploitation of Inga hydropower potential
- to inform donors, investors and potential consumers of the potential of the hydroelectricity project to provide enough power to meet energy needs and requirements of DRC, a large number of African countries, as well as provide surplus energy that can be exported to Europe and the Middle East
- to register declarations of interest from investors and potential clients to enable effective and planned development of the Inga
- to seek the views and input of development partners and all parties (including NGO's and civil society organisations) interested in the project into the orientation of a planned feasibility study for further development of the Inga Hydropower Site.
bioenergy :: biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: hydroelectric :: dam :: Inga :: Congo :: Africa ::
The African Development Bank carried out a study between 1993-1998 to evaluate the feasibility and viability of power interconnectivity between the Inga in DRC, Egypt, the Central African Republic, Chad and Sudan. The World Bank has just completed a study on the rehabilitation of the existing infrastructure, and the ADB is planning a holistic study that will look at the viability of further development of the site.
More than 60 representatives from governments, international organizations, public sectors, private sector, donor agencies, development partners, NGOs and the civil society are expected to participate in the round table.
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