ACROSS AFRICA
Madagascar plans 35MW hydroelectric project
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he Mada ga sca n water and electricity company and an Italian partner are planning to build a hy d r o e l e c t r i c p owe r p l a nt i n A nt a n a n a r i v o . C o m b i n e d w it h t wo s ola r i n st a l lat ion s, t he fa c i l it y w i l l p r o duc e 3 5 M W of electr icity to f i l l the energ y gap in and around the c a p i t a l o f M a d a g a s c a r. T h e complaints published on social n e t w o r k s b y I nt e r n e t u s e r s a ga i n st Ji ra ma, t he nat iona l water and electricity company, a r e r e c u r r ent a nd nu mer ou s i n M ada ga s c a r. Ac c ord i n g to fig ures published by the World B a n k i n 2 018 , o n l y 15% o f t he p opu lat ion ha s acce s s to electr icity in this souther n A frican countr y.
of 35 megawatts to supply the cit y of A nta na na r ivo a nd it s surroundings.
To improve electricity supply, t he cou ntr y’s aut hor itie s a re now focu si ng on renewa ble energies. A n option for which Madagascar has great potential: 2,0 0 0 kW h/m²/year thanks to the 2,800 hours of sunshine per year, in terms of solar energ y. H owe ve r, M a d a g a s c a r’s n e w energy project will not only rely on solar energy. It will combine both the sun and the strength of waterfalls. This includes the construction of a hydroelectric power plant in A ntananarivo, which also includes two adjacent solar installations. T he three units will have a total capacity
On the other hand, electricity production from rivers ha s b e e n d e n ou n c e d i n a r e c e nt study conducted by the L eibniz I n s t it ute o f F r e s hw ate r a n d Inland F isheries Ecolog y in G e r m a n y. T h e r e s e a r c h e r s compiled data on 126 megafauna species living in rivers and lakes around the world, as well as information on the geographical d i st r i bution of 4 4 sp e cie s i n Europe and the United States. R e s u l t s : B e t w e e n 19 7 0 a n d 2012, the freshwater megafauna declined by 88%. T he pace at which these vertebrates decline is estimated to be twice as fast
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According to Jirama, the project will be operational by 2020. To address this issue, the national water and electricity company, which has been undergoing some renovation since August 14, 2019, has entered into a partnership with the Italian company Tozzi Green, a company specialising in solutions, ser vices and projects for the development of facilities and the production of energ y from renewable sources. It i s importan t to pay attention to aquatic biodiversity
SEPTEMBER 2019, Vol 2 No 6
a s for ter r e st r i a l or o c e a n ic a nima ls. T his mea ns that env i ron menta l i mpact stud ie s in hydroelectr ic projects w i l l have to be stepped up, g iven the large freshwater biological reser ve. R ivers and lakes cover only 1% of the world’s surface area, but they are home to one third of all vertebrate species and nearly half of all fish. It i s perhaps to compen sate for t h i s a s p e c t t h at M ad a g a s c a r relies much more on solar energy a m o n g a l l r e n ew a b l e e n e r g y resources. All the regions benefit from more than 2,80 0 hours of sunshine per year, making the Bi g I sla nd t he ide a l site for developing solar energ y, which could represent a capacity of 2,000 kWh/m²/year. A potential that the State is counting on to meet its objective: to provide acc e s s to energ y for 70% of Malagasy households by 2030. To help achieve this objective, t h e S c a l i n g S o l a r i n i t i at i v e launched by the International F inance C orporation (IFC), a subsidiar y of the World Bank Group, signed an agreement with the government of Madagascar i n M a r c h 2 016 t o d e s i g n a power plant of about 25 M W connected to the A ntananarivo g r id. T he project includes requirements for storing solar energ y by connecting the plant with batteries.
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