Construction of first solar-hydro hybrid power plant in Uganda has been halted. Mr Simon Kasyate, head of communications and corporate affairs at Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) made the announcement and said that results from feasibility studies done on the project came out negative.
Early last year, the government had embarked on feasibility studies to ascertain the viability of construction of a solar-hydro hybrid plant on the 6.6MW Nyagak III dam in West Nile. The solar back up was meant to absorb the shocks created by the effects of unpredictable weather conditions. Mr Simon said that the study shows a precursor to the development of the first hybrid energy generation project in Uganda.
Nyagak power project
“Studies were carried out and at the moment, we do not think it makes dollar sense to do so and it was not meeting viability for many other reasons. At the moment, Nyagak is being developed as an explicitly hydropower project,” said Mr Simon Kasyate.
“We were asking ourselves where we are going to put the solar panels. Earlier thinking was that we would put them on the reservoir created but consequently, financial, environmental and social viability does not make it possible to set up the hybrid dam,” he added.
Nyagak power project estimated to cost US$19.4m, will be developed through a Public-Private Partnership model through which the government will pick up the project at 30% equity while the remaining 70% debt mobilised by the new private investor, Genmax. Construction timeline is 33 months.
Source: Construction Review Online
