Mozambique was building several new gas, coal and hydropower stations to address the country’s growing electricity demand, said Mozambique State-owned power utility Electricidade de Mozambique (EDM) board adviser Marcelino Gildo Alberto at the 2014 Power & Electricity World Africa conference, held in Johannesburg last month.

He said the first of the new power stations would be the 150 MW Ressano Garcia gas-fired power station on the border between Mozambique and South Africa, which is scheduled to come on stream in June.

The €138-million Ressano Garcia thermal power station, which will have 18 gas-fired generator groups, is a joint venture project between EDM – which has a 51% share in the project – and petrochemicals giant Sasol New Energy, which has the remaining 49% share in the project.

Sixteen of these gas-fired generator groups will operate permanently, with the other two on standby for use during maintenance or breakdowns.

Alberto explained that Ressano Garcia would use the natural gas from the country’s Inhambane province, which Sasol currently exploited.

“In 2015, we plan to commission three power stations,” stated Alberto.

He added that these include the $235-million 100 MW Gigawatt gas-fired power station, located near Ressano Garcia, in Mozambique; the 40 MW Kuvaninga Energia gas-fired power station, located in the Chókwè district of Gaza province, in southern Mozambique; and the 42 MW Mavuzi and 44 MW Chicamba hydropower stations, both located on the river Revuè, in the province of Manica, 800 km north of Maputo.

“The project will be financed on a nonrecourse project finance basis, with about 70% of the Gigawatt project funded through senior debt. The sponsors of the Gigawatt project and other interested parties will subscribe all the equity for the project. The Gigawatt project revenue will be secured by a long-term power purchase agreement with a utility or a major industrial user within the Southern African grid,” states energy development company Gigawatt Mozambique.

The $105-million Kuvaninga Energia power plant is being developed by US-based project development, sales and acquisition services provider Enventure Partners, in partnership with local investment bank Investec Bank. This will include all costs associated with the construction of the plant, the associated pipeline and power transmission facilities.

The plant will also incorporate ten Jenbacher JGS 624 GS reciprocating engines that will operate in a simple cycle mode. Each engine will have a capacity, measured at the generator terminal, of 4.029 MW, and a fuel use efficiency of 41%, based on the lower heating value of the natural gas.

Additionally, the Kuvaninga Energia power plant project includes a 27-km-long, 110 kV transmission line to transport electricity from the plant to the Lionde substation, which is the nearest interconnection point on the EDM electricity supply grid.

Moreover, Enventure Partners says the project will include a 200-m-long buried natural gas pipeline to transport all the natural gas required by the power station to a large Sasol natural gas transmission pipeline to the project.

“A tap will be added by Sasol, together with a gas pressure reduction and treatment station, to meet the requirements of the Jenbacher engines,” states Enventure Partners.

The company adds that the Kuvaninga Energia power plant project includes on-site housing for most of the observation and measurement staff and an off-site water well serving local rural residents in the area.

Meanwhile, the Mavuzi and Chicamba hydropower stations are undergoing a €102-million refurbishment to improve their generating capacities.

French international financial development agency Agence Française de Développement (AFD) states that the refurbishments include the rehabilitation of both turbines at Chicamba and three main turbines at Mavuzi, as well as Mavusi’s other two 5.5 MW turbines, which will serve as a backup in case of failure.

The Chicamba and Mavuzi power stations’ electrical control equipment and penstocks will also be refurbished.

AFD says the capacity of the two plants will increase by 50% from 53 MW to 86 MW after the refurbishments have been completed, with expected yearly production estimated to increase from 280 GWh/y to about 316 GWh/y.

Alberto highlighted that there would be a surplus of electricity in Mozambique by the end of 2015, which the country would be able to sell to countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region.

“This opportunity to sell electricity to SADC countries, such as South Africa, would not only provide the country with additional revenue sources to maintain existing power infrastructure but also support future build power projects,” he said.

Alberto pointed out that from 2016 to 2018, the country was scheduled to commission nine power stations.

In 2016, the commissioning of the 100 MW Maputo Central Térmica gas-fired combined-cycle power station, in Maputo, and the 600 MW Moatize coal-fired power station, in Tete province, are scheduled to take place.

In 2017, the commissioning of the 2 000 MW Benga coal-fired power station, in Tete province; the 178 MW Lúrio hydropower project, comprising the Quesdas and Ocua hydropower plants on the Lurio river, in the Nacala region of Nampula province; the 60 MW Alto Malema hydropower station, located about 15 km north-east of Gurue, in the Zambezia province; and the 200 MW Boroma hydropower station, located 24 km from the town of Tete, in the Changara district of Lower Zambezia, are scheduled to take place.

In 2018, Mozambique is scheduled to commission the 600 MW Lupata, the
1 500 MW Mphanda Nkuwa and the new 1 245 MW Cahora Bassa North hydropower stations, which are all located along the Zambezi river, in Tete province.