Grand Designs: Assessing the African Energy Security Implications of the Grand Inga Dam

Abstract

Abstract:In May 2013 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) announced that construction of the world’s largest hydroelectric project will begin in October 2015. Upon completion, according to the DRC, the project will bring electricity to half the African continent. With funding from South Africa, the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and others, the U.S.$80 billion Grand Inga Hydroelectric project will construct a 44,000 megawatt (MW) dam anchored to a new transmission network able to distribute electricity to all four of sub-Saharan Africa’s regional electricity power pools. While the dam promises to bring electricity to many millions of Africans who currently lack access, the project also poses risks to the citizens and environment of the DRC. To assess the complex tradeoffs, this article evaluates four dimensions that are part of an energy security framework: availability, affordability, efficiency, and stewardship. In doing so, it explores some of the governance challenges that arise in managing such a “mega-project.” The analysis also reveals tensions between national and regional energy security. It presents evidence that, under certain assumptions, the pursuit of enhanced security at the regional level may result in a net security loss for the DRC. Finally, the article provides suggestions for enhancing the decision-making process of those designing related national and regional energy strategies.

Repercussion of Large Scale Hydro Dam Deployment: The Case of Congo Grand Inga Hydro Project

“…Advocates of large hydro dams have often exaggerated the benefits of developing the Inga project, while the true risks of the project are neglected. However, it needs to be highlighted that a project of this scale may be overwhelming for the continent, due to several requirements that need to be fulfilled in order to realise its full completion [7,14]. To achieve a regional electricity project of this dimension, it calls for a further development of the cross-border transmission network from DRC to other regions of SSA [7].…”

The changing water cycle: Freshwater in the Congo

“…Taken times 12 months in a year, the above amount leads to USD 16,800,000,000 that the hydro-electrical power could bring to the country. These figures do not account for industrial usages and are not far from the estimate of USD 14.8 billion annually quoted by Green et al (2015), differences stemming essentially from charged cost per kilowatt hour. Overall, estimates would not change significantly, even if considerations were made of figures produced by Amisi (2015).…”

“…With increased debts, partnerships to build Inga would require that DRC mutes, at least temporary, certain of its claims on the national sovereignty. Beyond economic consequences such as increased debts described here, Green et al () identified significant negative environmental consequences if a reservoir‐based design was used to build the dam itself; these negative ecological consequences included the emission of millions of tons of greenhouse gases, the risk of flooding, increased seismicity and earthquakes, fisheries losses, alterations to water quality, and disease epidemics. As indicated above, there are genuine claims over Congo water for other countries.…”

“…The bottom line message is that the hydroelectric power of the Congo River is a major ecological service, which could significantly contribute to the economy of the country. Of course, financial benefits yielded from the electrical potential of Inga have to be balanced against all costs that the construction of Grand Inga would cause, such as ecological, financial and social costs of the physical construction of the dam itself, which have been described, for examples, by Von Lossow (), Boyé and De Vivo (), Amisi (), Green et al (), USAID (), and Showers ().…”

The expanding horizon of renewable energy in sub-Saharan Africa: Leading research in the social sciences

“…The authors report numerous problems that resulted from the large dam in Mozambique: grandiose plans that have to be scaled back, goals that are never reached ("expanding regional productivity, enhancing the living conditions of the indigenous population, substantially increasing the number of Europeans in the Zambezi valley, and ending flooding") [32]. These findings are supported by a number of recent articles looking at large dam projects, both those that have been built and some that are now being touted as solving the energy access challenges in Africa [33][34][35]. While dams do hold the promise of dramatic increases in installed capacity, the Cahora Bassa is a stark reminder of what can go wrong and the major challenges of reaching the goal of greater access to electricity for the people living in these countries, as opposed to only mining and other industrial sectors.…”