The 2017 Monsonyi Award for Excellence in Hydropower was recently presented by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) to local greenfield independent power plants developer Renewable Energy Holdings (REH) for its contribution to the hydropower sector during the World Hydropower Congress, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, earlier this month.

The award, presented to REH MD Anton-Louis Olivier, recognises individual IHA members for outstanding contributions to the sector. Olivier says “huge potential” exists for hydropower development in Africa and REH has achieved many notable goals over the past decade.

REH is one of the first independent power producers (IPPs) in South Africa and develops hydropower plants from the greenfield stage to financial close, and also operates the plants.

Engineering and consulting company Aurecon has been partnering with REH since 2002, and the firms have successfully developed and implemented three small hydropower plants: Stortemelk and elements of the Bethlehem Hydro project – comprising the Merino and Sol Plaatje hydropower stations –all in the Free State, in addition to currently working on several other schemes.

The Stortemelk hydropower plant, developed under a project finance structure, has an installed capacity of 4.4 MW and operates as a run-of-river power station with a yearly output of about 28 GWh. This plant comprises a single vertical Kaplan turbine in a powerhouse alongside the existing Botterkloof dam.

Aurecon acted as the engineering, procurement and construction management contractor for the project and was responsible for the entire project management, detailed design, construction supervision, environment monitoring and contract administration, as well as the health and safety oversight. Construction started in October 2014 and the project reached commercial operation in July 2016, on time and within budget, without using any of the project contingencies.

The Bethlehem Hydro project was initiated to generate renewable electricity from the constant flow of water, which runs into the Ash river as part of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project.