The Ruacana Hydroelectric Power Station is a

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 and ...

plant near

Ruacana Ruacana is a town in Omusati Region, northern Namibia and the district capital of the Ruacana electoral constituency. It is located on the border with Angola on the river Kunene. The town is known for the picturesque Ruacana Falls nearby, and fo ...

in northwest

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, close to the

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n border. Commissioned in 1978, it is by far the largest power station in Namibia. Its operator is

NamPower Namibia Power Corporation, commonly known as NamPower, is the national electric power utility company of Namibia. The company is responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the country. Its activities are lice ...

, the Namibian national electric power utility company.

Location

The power station is located near the town of

, across the Kunene River, in the

Omusati Region Omusati ( ng, Mopane, after the dominant tree in the area) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Outapi. The towns of Okahao, Oshikuku and Ruacana as well as the self-governed village Tsandi are situated in this region. , Omus ...

of Namibia, adjacent to the international border with Angola. This is approximately , by road, northwest of

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

, the capital and largest city of Namibia. The power station is operated by

, the Namibian national electric power utility company.

Overview

As of May 2020, Ruacana Hydroelectric Power Station is the largest electricity generating station in Namibia. It accounts for approximately 50 percent of the country's generation capacity. The first three 80 MW

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proces ...

-generators were commissioned in 1978. In 2012, the three original turbines were tweaked to generate a maximum of 85 megawatts each. A fourth turbine with 92 megawatts capacity was also installed that year, bringing the stations generation capacity to . The fourth Francis turbine-generator was built by

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

, Andritz Hydro and

Concor Concor Holdings (Proprietary) Limited. is a South African construction and mining services company. It is active throughout Southern Africa, involved in mining, civil engineering, building and road projects. Concor returned as an independent br ...

and commissioned on 5 April 2012. The power station is located underground near the bottom of the falls. The power station is operated by Namibia's national power utility company,

Water Source

Water for the power station is stored in

Calueque Dam The Caluequee Dam, is an operational multipurpose dam across the Kunene River, in Kunene Province, in southwestern Angola. The dam stores water for the Ruacana Hydroelectric Power Station, in neighboring Namibia. Its waters are also used fo ...

approximately upstream of the Ruacana Falls along the Kunene River in

Calueque Calueque is a town next to a dam and pumping station of the same name on the Kunene River in the Kunene Province of southern Angola. The water project is linked to Ruacana, away in Namibia, where the Ruacana Power Station is. This dam is one of ...

, Angola. Several dams upstream help regulate the Kunene River to help the power station operate more efficiently. Further upstream is the

Gove Dam The Gove Dam is an embankment dam on the Kunene River about south of Huambo in Huambo Province, Angola. The purpose of the dam is to control floods and generate hydroelectric power. It has a power generating capacity of each) (three turbines of ...

in west-central Angola and the

Olushandja Dam Olushandja Dam is a dam on the Etaka River outside of Oshakati in the Oshana Region of Namibia. The dam was completed in 1990. Its lake has a maximum capacity of 42.331 million cubic metres, and stores water from the Calueque Dam on the Cunene Riv ...

, on the tributary, ''Etaka River'', is in Namibia.

References

External links

Kunene River Awareness Kit
As of 2010. {{stack, {{Portal, Africa, Water, Renewable energy 1978 establishments in South West Africa Dams in Angola Underground power stations Energy infrastructure completed in 1978 Hydroelectric power stations in Namibia Dams completed in 1975 Omusati Region

Location

Overview

Water Source

See also

References

External links