Author(s)

Thomas J. Hammons, Pathmanathan Naidoo, Lawrence Musaba

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The paper discusses harvesting the Congo River for bulk hydroelectric generation based on run of river, low head generation technology, as employed at the existing Inga 2 power station in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The evolutionary approach builds on existing infrastructure.The results show that the footprint is much smaller than that which employs a conventional dam. The environmental impact is minimized. These collectively will contribute to lower capital costs. In summary, 10,000 cm³/sec of constant river flow will produce 5,000 MW of base power. On average, the constant recorded flow of the river is 30,000 cm³/sec and a total of 15,000 MW of base power generation is possible.

Hydroelectric Power Generation, River Engineering, Environmental Iimpact, Hydropower Development in DRC

T. Hammons, P. Naidoo and L. Musaba, "Run of River Bulk Hydroelectric Generation from the Congo River without a Conventional Dam," Natural Resources, Vol. 2 No. 1, 2011, pp. 18-21. doi: 10.4236/nr.2011.21003.