Plans To Harness River Congo Could Supply Power For Africa And Europe

One of Africa's biggest electricity companies yesterday unveiled plans to build the world's biggest hydro-electricity plant on a stretch of the Congo River, harnessing enough power for the whole continent.

Proposals for a vast hydro-electric scheme on one of Africa's largest rivers that could produce enough power, not only to service Africa's industrialisation, but to sell to Europe as well were unveiled this week at the UN Environment Programme's headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The plans to harness the mighty Congo River have been drawn up by one of Africa’s biggest energy companies.

“We calculate that hydroelectricity from the Congo could generate more than 40,000 megawatts, enough to power Africa’s industrialization with the possibility of selling the surplus to southern Europe.”

Some 526 million people in Africa do not have access to any electricity. Powercuts are common even in the most developed African countries, and in the more remote parts of the continent the sole power source is the diesel-fuelled generator.

sources:
guardian.co.uk
europa.world

now that is what i am talking about!
lets invest in africa, lets help the people of this continent.
there is just famine, diseases and wars spreading in africa.

i see this power plant as a big step in helping the african people
in their struggle for a better life.

but then again,
knowing that hydro power plants also harm the enviroment.
the campaigners fear any dam on the 2,600-mile congo, a.k.a. 'the river that swallows all rivers', may harm the fishermen.

I wouldn't want to spoil fun but have anyone of you thought how much building power network to cover whole Africa would cost?
Neither talking about keeping those thousand miles long lines in operation with all those wars and power struggles.

I would say it would be much better to produce that electricity locally without putting thousand miles long cables everywhere.

In the short / medium term I don't see it as a gesture to develope the poor countries in africa, but rather as supplying electricty to the companies that have renewed interest (high oil-price) to explore all those oilfields in Africa that were too expensive in the past to develope from scratch due to affordable mid-east oil and lack of african infrastructure.

You can bet the Grid will specifically run along sites and countries that sit on oil. On behalve of the oil companies , the armies of the usa and France and the local henchmen , will see to it that the traditional tribals squables and civil wars don't mess with the project. Behind closed doors France and America have worked out their issues and already made plans how to divide the juicy African apple. The american provide the millitary muscle, while the French provide the brains, as former colonist having the in depth knowledge of the local situation and a more refined sense of diplomacy for ressolving sensitive issues, besides, most black Africans speak French as well.

And actually most of us here on the board would be glad as the middle-east would lose a lot of its oil related significance and all the trouble that comes with it.

Maybe in the long term, due to need for local workforces, it might indeed create jobs for local african and they will be starting to use the electricity themselves....

From a technological point of view, I think it's an AWEsome project, but as usual it is sold under a false flag, wanting to tap into Worldbank loans that are meant for humantirarian (but I might be misstaken) efforts and not for the toys of the fatcats....


[edit on 28-2-2005 by Countermeasures]

ummm?...i will watch this with intrest.....the unrest in the congo and democratic republic of congo will have to subside at some point and maybe make way for a project like this but being as no large ships have been able to travel up the congo for the past few years...(other than shallow draft ships) due to lack of dredging. getting supplies and heavy machinery into the locations in the congo is super expensive and normally done by air, also with wood being one of their biggest exports...(china)....it will be intresting to see how this may hinder plans to use the waterways?

regards.

He who controls the gold makes the rules. This is about control. Imagine feeding an entire continent's electrical power needs from your country. How much power (no pun intended) and control do you have then?

As for downgrading the Middle East's influence on oil supply by increasing Africa's capabilities you are just swapping monsters.

i will tell you a true story about africa:

there was a tribe in africa that didnt have any water in their village. they had to carry it from a deep well very far from the village they lived in. it was a very big deal if you were the chozen one for this mission, and only the bravest and strongest of the tribe were called upon when they needed water. their entire tribal religion and customes were based around this: the quest for water. they had all storts of ways of getting fresh water without any fountain. and they were better everytime. they survived despite the fact, that they didnt have any fresh water source. they survived for thousands of years.
but then the white man came.
he has seen this "tragedy" that the tribe doesnt have their own supply of fresh water, and they have build them a pipeline to their village.
the entire tribe, that existed for god knows how many years, died in a few years time...


the real quesiton that emerges, is who really OWNS the continent of Africa?
does the black man own it?
africa is a very rich continent, rich in natural resources,
and i dont think many of these are in black man's hands.
just like gold and diamond rich south africa.

so who will really "gain" anything from this project?
there are 526 million people without electrical power in africa.
do they need electrical power?
is the demand so high that they need to build the biggest dam in the world?


oh,
and whatever happened to that chinece "3 gorges dam"?
finished yet?

so who will really "gain" anything from this project?

so true soulja...so true....the african continent is a hard place to understand
the white man doesnt understand it.....i dont think he ever will?.....its just a source of profit thats easier to exploit than the western world!

I love Africa,its where all life began......i work with a company based in the islands of sao tome and principe...(off the coast of equatorial guniea) and its very hard to educate a people that dont really feel they have anything to gain with achieveing material wealth?

Originally posted by Souljah
i will tell you a true story about africa:

there was a tribe in africa that didnt have any water in their village. they had to carry it from a deep well very far from the village they lived in. it was a very big deal if you were the chozen one for this mission, and only the bravest and strongest of the tribe were called upon when they needed water. their entire tribal religion and customes were based around this: the quest for water. they had all storts of ways of getting fresh water without any fountain. and they were better everytime. they survived despite the fact, that they didnt have any fresh water source. they survived for thousands of years.
but then the white man came.
he has seen this "tragedy" that the tribe doesnt have their own supply of fresh water, and they have build them a pipeline to their village.
the entire tribe, that existed for god knows how many years, died in a few years time...


the real quesiton that emerges, is who really OWNS the continent of Africa?
does the black man own it?
africa is a very rich continent, rich in natural resources,
and i dont think many of these are in black man's hands.
just like gold and diamond rich south africa.

so who will really "gain" anything from this project?
there are 526 million people without electrical power in africa.
do they need electrical power?
is the demand so high that they need to build the biggest dam in the world?


oh,
and whatever happened to that chinece "3 gorges dam"?
finished yet?

nobody really owns land we just live on it for a while untill we die as for the cost of such a thing i think it is somthing worth paying for it would cost a lot in the begining but would also provide cleaner energy source that would help the environment for countless years to come