Hydro power

Wind power or wind energy is a form of energy conversion in which turbines convert the kinetic energy of wind into mechanical or electrical energy that can be used for power. Wind power is a sustainable and renewable energy with a much smaller impact on the environment compared to burning fossil fuels.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia has the second largest hydropower potential in Africa, with only 10% developed to date but nonetheless covering 90% of the nation’s electricity demand. Currently, installed capacity is about 4,330 MW of hydro, but more than 6,600 MW are under construction. By 2020, about 14,000 MW could be in operation. Moreover, dams built in Ethiopia provided over 1,500 MW of capacity by 2010. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) will be one of the largest hydropower dams in Africa and among the largest in the world. When completed it will be able to generate 6,450 MW, almost triple Ethiopia's entire national capacity compared to 2010.

Besides hydro, also wind energy is going to be intensively developed. Already supplying power to the neighboring countries of Djibouti and Sudan, Ethiopia has further ambitious plans to connect East Africa with Southern Africa via a powerful transmission line. 

Kenya

Hydropower potential in Kenya is concentrated in five geographical regions, Kenya’s major drainage basins: namely, Lake Victoria basin, Rift Valley basin, Athi River basin, Tana River basin and Enwaso Ngiro North River basin, and it is estimated that the country has a potential of about 6,000MW including large and small hydros. Currently over 743MW is exploited as for large hydropower, mainly in large installations owned by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company. On the other hand, potential for small hydros is over 3,000MW, of which roughly 30MW has been developed. The development of this sector can benefit from a fixed FiT of between USD 0.06 and USD 0.12 per kWhr.

Peru

Due to its geographical conformation, rich in rivers and water basins, Peru has a huge potential for hydroelectric energy, which is estimated to be exploited only at its 0,4%. Despite that, in 2019 hydroelectric energy already accounted for 57% of Peru energy matrix, mostly generated by conventional hydroelectric power plants, namely the ones producing more than 20 MW.

Its estimated potential has been estimated to 69 445 MW and it is mainly concentrated in the hydrographical area of the Atlantic Basin. In order to explore the regional potential further, the Ministry of Energy and Mines of Peru established a study for the Determination of the Hydroelectric Project Portfolio for the areas of the Apurímac, Madre de Dios, Purus, Grande, Chili, Tambo y Titicaca basins, while a following study analysed the Amazon and Ucayali basin.

Visual representation of the Hydroelectric Project Portfolio in the Ucayali and Amazon Basins

Visual representation of the Hydroelectric Projects in the Southern Region of Peru

Kazakhstan

Hydropower’s major contribution to power generation in Kazakhstan dates back to the Soviet era, when it played a significant part in efforts to increase the Soviet Union’s energy potential. Today, the six largest hydropower stations, with a total capacity of 2.5 GW, account for up to 9% of the country’s total electricity generation, a relatively small contribution compared with that of neighbouring countries but reflecting Kazakhstan’s geography. More recently, 27 small and medium-scale hydropower plants, with a total capacity of 200 MW, have been put into operation. These are attractive in terms of their cost, speed of construction, reliability and reduced environmental impact. Based on absolute indices of hydro resource potential, Kazakhstan ranks third among CIS countries. Because of the mountainous relief in the south and the east, Kazakhstan possesses significant hydropower potential.