Professionals, scientists and decision-makers from around the world are gathering in Bali, Indonesia for the World Hydropower Congress from 30 to 2 November 2023. The event is being held against a global backdrop of rising electricity prices.
The World Hydropower Congress 2023 opens on 30 October in Bali, Indonesia. Organised by the International Hydropower Association (IHA), the event, which runs until 2 November, will bring together more than 1,000 decision-makers, innovators and experts from industry, government, finance, civil society and academia. This edition has several objectives, including finding consensus on policy and financing recommendations to advance the transition to clean energy.
The discussions at the meeting should also help to break down barriers to renewable energy development by proposing policy and investment solutions. It will also highlight the huge untapped potential of hydropower in many parts of the world, particularly in Asia and Africa.
Africa currently has 38,174 MW of installed hydropower capacity according to IHA. Yet, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB), only 5% of Africa’s hydropower potential is being used so far. In West Africa alone, the hydropower potential is close to 25,000 MW, mainly in countries bordering the Gulf of Guinea, including Nigeria (37%), Guinea (26%), Ghana (11%), Ivory Coast (11%) and Sierra Leone (5%), according to the review Le retour des grands investissements hydrauliques en Afrique de l’Ouest: les perspectives et les enjeux, published by the French Centre for International Cooperation in Agronomic Research for Development (CIRAD).
Despite the environmental impacts, the largest project underway on the continent is being implemented in Ethiopia. This country in the Horn of Africa is building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile. The facility, whose second filling was completed in July 2021, will have a hydroelectric power plant that will feed 6,450 MW into Ethiopia’s national electricity grid. More than 5,100 km away, in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the government is delaying the construction phase of the 11,050 MW Inga III hydroelectric mega-project on the Congo River. In East Africa, the Stiegler’s Gorge hydropower project is progressing and is expected to eventually feed 2,100 MW into Tanzania’s national power grid.
For more information on the event, click here.
Jean Marie Takouleu
