ETHIOPIA
There are enormous resources for hydro generation,
the gross theoretical potential (650 TWh/year) being
the second largest in Africa. The technically feasible
potential is stated to be 260 TWh/year, of which 10%
represents the potential for small-scale hydro installations.
Hydro output in 1999 was about 1.6 TWh, a minute fraction
of the assessed potential. Currently, hydro-electricity
provides around 97% of Ethiopia’s electricity.
At the end of 1999, 398 MW of hydro capacity was in
place and a further 297 MW was under construction:
the principal sites were Gilgel Gibe (184 MW) and
Tis Abbay II (70 MW).
FRANCE
France is Western Europe’s second largest producer
of hydro-electricity, after Norway (and excluding
Russia). The country’s technically feasible capacity
has already been exploited: no hydro plants are under
construction and only about 50 MW of new capacity
is planned.
At the end of 1999, the total installed capacity of
small-scale (<10 MW) plants was just over 2 000 MW.
There were, on the other hand some 280 hydro plants
of greater than 10 MW, with an aggregate installed
capacity of about 23 000 MW.
GHANA
There are 17 potential hydro sites, of which only
Akosombo (912 MW) and Kpong (160 MW) have so far been
developed. The next most attractive hydro project
is the 400 MW Bui dam on the Black Volta river, which
is at a preparatory stage.
Electricity generation in Ghana is a responsibility
of the Volta River Authority, established in 1961.
The average annual output of its two existing hydro
stations (6 000 GWh) is equivalent to about 54% of
Ghana’s technically exploitable hydro capability.
After many years of low rainfall, the Volta Reservoir
received substantially above-average inflows during
1999, enabling output from Akosombo and Kpong to be
raised from 3 830 GWh in 1998 to 5 169 GWh in 1999.
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