The Ruacana Hydroelectric Power Station is a

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined a ...

plant near

Ruacana Ruacana is a town in Omusati Region, northern Namibia and the district capital of the Ruacana electoral constituency. It is located on the border with Angola on the river Kunene. The town is known for the picturesque Ruacana Falls nearby, and f ...

in northwest

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

, close to the

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n border. Commissioned in 1978, it is by far the largest power station in Namibia. Its operator is NamPower, the Namibian national electric power utility company.

Location

The power station is located near the town of

, across the

Kunene River The Cunene (Portuguese spelling) or Kunene (common Namibian spelling) is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands south to the border with Namibia. It then flows west along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

, in the

Omusati Region Omusati ( ng, Mopane, after the dominant tree in the area) is one of the fourteen regions of Namibia, its capital is Outapi. The towns of Okahao, Oshikuku and Ruacana as well as the self-governed village Tsandi are situated in this region. , Om ...

of Namibia, adjacent to the international border with Angola. This is approximately , by road, northwest of

Windhoek Windhoek (, , ) is the capital and largest city of Namibia. It is located in central Namibia in the Khomas Highland plateau area, at around above sea level, almost exactly at the country's geographical centre. The population of Windhoek in 20 ...

, the capital and largest city of Namibia. The power station is operated by NamPower, the Namibian national electric power utility company.

Overview

As of May 2020, Ruacana Hydroelectric Power Station is the largest electricity generating station in Namibia. It accounts for approximately 50 percent of the country's generation capacity. The first three 80 MW Francis turbine-generators were commissioned in 1978. In 2012, the three original turbines were tweaked to generate a maximum of 85 megawatts each. A fourth turbine with 92 megawatts capacity was also installed that year, bringing the stations generation capacity to . The fourth Francis turbine-generator was built by

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Av ...

, Andritz Hydro and

Concor Concor Holdings (Proprietary) Limited. is a South African construction and mining services company. It is active throughout Southern Africa, involved in mining, civil engineering, building and road projects. Concor returned as an independent br ...

and commissioned on 5 April 2012. The power station is located underground near the bottom of the falls. The power station is operated by Namibia's national power utility company, NamPower.

Water Source

Water for the power station is stored in Calueque Dam approximately upstream of the Ruacana Falls along the

Calueque Calueque is a town next to a dam and pumping station of the same name on the Kunene River in the Kunene Province of southern Angola. The water project is linked to Ruacana, away in Namibia, where the Ruacana Power Station is. This dam is one of ...

, Angola. Several dams upstream help regulate the Kunene River to help the power station operate more efficiently. Further upstream is the Gove Dam in west-central Angola and the Olushandja Dam, on the tributary, ''Etaka River'', is in Namibia.

References

External links

Kunene River Awareness Kit
As of 2010. {{stack, {{Portal, Africa, Water, Renewable energy 1978 establishments in South West Africa Dams in Angola Underground power stations Energy infrastructure completed in 1978 Hydroelectric power stations in Namibia Dams completed in 1975 Omusati Region

Location

Overview

Water Source

See also

References

External links