Cameroon: Construction Work on Power Plant Project on Top Gear, Officials Say
By Akanimo SampsonTop Cameroonian officials say work has effectively resumed on the construction site of the Nachtigal power plant project on the Sanaga River.The country’s Minister of Water and Energy, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, and his colleague from Labour and Social Security, Grégoire Owona, said so.This is coming as te United States Agency for Trade and Development (USTDA), an independent agency of the US government, formed to advance economic development and US commercial interests in developing and middle-income countries, has announced that it will finance the feasibility study for a solar mini-grids project in Cameroon.
The funds, totaling up to around US$ 1M, will be handed over to Renewable Energy Innovators Cameroon (REIc), a social enterprise based in the West African country that is developing the project in question in partnership with SimpliPhi Power, a growing and innovative technology company based in California, USA, that designs, builds and sells a portfolio of non-toxic, efficient, energy-dense storage and management systems that seamlessly integrate renewable energy in conjunction with or independent of the grid.The feasibility study will be carried out by SimpliPhi Power in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a subsidiary of the US Department of Energy that specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation.Morua Power, a US-based Latina-owned global engineering company and platform for world-class power systems and technology will too contribute to the feasibility study that will also include the design and monitoring of a pilot mini-grids project.
The solar mini-grids project in Cameroon is aimed at connecting more than 100,000 households to off-grid electricity, based on an innovative battery storage solution.According to reports, in Cameroon, only 27% of all the households have access to electric energy, and energy poverty is even more marked in rural areas where 70% of the rural population (approximately 60% of the entire Cameroonians) do not have access to electricity.However, work had been severely disrupted in recent weeks after workers deserted the site, demanding better working conditions. Their return is proof that the resolutions taken during a meeting between the project stakeholders on March 12, 2021, have been implemented.
Progress made so far
During a visit to the project site on April 16. 2021, the two ministers assessed the state of progress of the work done so far and reported that the cumulative advancement rate to date is 38%. In detail, the electromechanical work is 33% done, the transmission line is 71% complete, and the operating city is 64% complete.The construction manager assured that the site is particularly active despite the mood swing recorded and that at the end of the year they will be able to complete all the conventional concrete structures that are on the left bank. This includes the canal water intake, the spillway, the temporary diversion sluices.
“During the same period, we will also start the main roadblock and we will also have made significant progress on the installation of equipment. The goal is to put the first turbine into service in February 2023 and the seventh in March the following year”, he elaborated.
Expectations for the project
Led by the Nachtigal Hydro Power Company (NHPC), which is a consortium formed by EDF, the World Bank IFC Group institution, and the State of Cameroon, the Nachtigal hydroelectric project is a national priority to secure the Central African country’s electricity system.It will improve and secure people’s access to electricity while contributing to the country’s low-carbon transition. The increase in the country’s electricity production capacity will enable Cameroon to become an electricity exporter in the sub-region in the medium and long term contributing to its economy.
