The Ruo–Ndiza Hydroelectric Power Station is an operational

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

plant in southeastern

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeas ...

, at the border with

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

Location

The power station is located across the confluence of the Ruo River and its tributary, the ''Ndiza River'', in

Mulanje District Mulanje is a district in the Southern Region of Malawi. The capital is Mulanje. The district covers an area of 2,056 km.² and has a population of 428,322. It is also known for its tea growing industry and Mount Mulanje which is one of the ...

, in the Southern Region of Malawi, at the international border with the

Republic of Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The location is within the ''Lujeri Tea Estate'', approximately , by road, southeast of

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...

, the commercial and financial capital of Malawi.

Overview

In March 2018, Malawi's installed electricity-generating capacity was , With peak demand of 350 megawatts and growing at about 6 percent annually, the Malawian grid has very little flexibility. This has exposed the country to severe, recurrent load-shedding. Mulanje Renewable Energy Plc (also Mulanje Hydro Limited), a private energy-generating company, domiciled in Malawi, contracted ''Gilkes'', a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

electric turbine manufacturer to build this power station, over a two-year period.

Technical details

The power station is a

run-of-river Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amo ...

design which does not require a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

and therefore no need for a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

. There are three

Pelton-type The Pelton wheel or Pelton Turbine is an impulse-type water turbine invented by American inventor Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to water's dead weight like the trad ...

turbines each rated at . One was installed on the ''Ndizi River'', during the first phase. Due to the water flow rates on this small river, only 1.65 megawatts could be extracted. The second phase included the installation of two more Pelton turbines each rated at 3.3 megawatts, across the Ruo River, yielding a total of 6.6 megawatts in new energy generation. The total output of the power complex is 8.25 megawatts.

Construction

The construction budget has been reported at US$16 million. Construction began in June 2018 and concluded in April 2020. The power generated is sold to the national power distributor

Electricity Supply Commission of Malawi Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (ESCOM) is the state-owned power transmission and distribution company in Malawi. It is entirely in control of transmission and distribution of electric power in the country. ESCOM represents Malaw ...

(Escom), under a long-term

power purchase agreement A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...

References

External links