Editorial
Dear Business Friends,
Africa is a fascinating and diverse continent experiencing rapid population growth. By 2050 the population of Africa is widely expected to double and individual countries will have more inhabitants than the USA today. At the same time, social and industrial growth is irrevocably bound to the supply of affordable energy.
The desire to use fossil-based energy resources is in decline, but energy demand continues to rise. A compromise thus has to be found between the need to support social and industrial growth for an expanding population and an ongoing responsibility to future generations.
Hydropower is the most proven and best-developed form of renewable electricity generation. The technically feasible potential for hydropower in Africa is enormous and could cover much more than the entire future power requirements of the continent. The construction of new hydropower plants and the refurbishment of existing ones is therefore an important part of Africa’s energy future.
ANDRITZ HYDRO has been active in this region for more than 100 years and has supplied more than 40% of all the installed turbines across the continent. More powerful new plants like HPP Laúca in Angola and HPP Rusumo Falls in Rwanda are under construction in order to satisfy significant and continuing growth in electricity demand. For instance, the hydropower complex Inga in DR Congo is currently using only a small portion of its enormous potential for power generation. Rural electrification and decentralized off-grid solutions based on small hydroelectric plants will also contribute to improvements in the distribution of power in Africa, where many millions do not have access to electricity supply. Modernization and upgrades to existing power plants will also make a major contribution to satisfying the energy hunger of many nations. Examples of ANDRITZ HYDRO‘s present-day rehabilitation successes include HPP Ruacana in Namibia, HPP Inga 2 and Djoué in DR Congo, HPP Kpong in Ghana as well as HPP Mount Coffee in Liberia.
The technology offered by ANDRITZ HYDRO provides state-of-the-art know-how combined with the latest designs to help sustain the natural environment.
At ANDRITZ HYDRO we are fully committed to support this continent on its way to better social and economic welfare based on its wealth of renewable hydropower resources.
Alexander Schwab
