Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station

The Kapichira Power Station is a hydroelectric power plant 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 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 Power Station
Kapachira Falls including the Kapichira Hydroelectric Power Station
Country
LocationMalawi
Coordinates15°54′04″S 34°45′11″E
StatusOperational
Owner(s)Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi
Thermal power station
Primary fuelHydropower
Power generation
Nameplate capacity128 MW (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 68 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]

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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. 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 2009-06-05. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  4. Globefeed.com (15 April 2018). "Distance between Post Office, Blantyre, Malawi and Kapichira Dam Hydro Electric Project, Malawi". Globefeed.com. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  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 Pant to Spur Business Growth". The Nation (Malawi). Blantyre. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
  7. KfW (1995). "Malawi: Kapichira Hydropower Plant, Ex-post evaluation" (PDF). Berlin: Entwicklungsbank-Startseite (KfW). Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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