Wikicommons
Eskom owns and operates the 360MW Gariep hydroelectricity scheme.
comment in November) calls for 55GW of renewable energy capacity to be installed between 2020 and 2050.
However, market commentators believe that despite investor appetite for projects in the water sector, the number of solar and wind projects in South Africa outstrips water projects. And while hydropower in South Africa has not been exploited to its full potential, it is expected that the majority of hydropower projects in South Africa will be carried out on a smaller scale due to the country’ s available water resources.
Few sites remain
This largely concurs with a report in the Hydropower & Dams World Atlas 2016, which notes that, in recent years, dam construction has slowed down in South Africa, with emphasis changing to optimising the use of existing resources.
“ Few suitable sites remain. However, several water resources development projects could still proceed, including the Mzimvubu Water Project in the Eastern Cape, which would involve the construction of the Ntabelanga Dam, on the Itsitsa River,” says the report.
“ Another scheme in the planning phase is Mkomazi, in KwaZulu-Natal, which includes the construction of the Smithfield Dam. Other possible schemes would be the Vioolsdrift Dam( within Namibia), on the Lower Orange River, in the Northern Cape, and the Nwamitwa Dam, on the Groot Letaba River, in the north of the country, both for water supply.”
According to the latest figures quoted by the Hydropower & Dams World Atlas 2016, the gross theoretical hydro capacity of South Africa is 73 000GWh per year, while the technically feasible capacity is 14 000GWh per year. The country’ s economically feasible hydro capacity is 47 000GWh per year.
“ Of the technically feasible potential, about 90 % has been developed so far
22 Water Sewage & Effluent January / February 2017