Kamburu power plant

Kamburu power plant
	; Image wanted
	location
Coordinates	0 ° 48 '25 " S , 37 ° 41' 8" E Coordinates: 0 ° 48 '25 " S , 37 ° 41' 8" O
country	Kenya
place	Counties Embu and Machakos
Waters	Tana
	f1
	power plant
owner	Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen)
operator	KenGen
construction time	1971 to 1974
Start of operation	1974
	technology
Bottleneck performance	94.2 megawatts
Average ; height of fall	82 m
Standard work capacity	348 to 489 million kWh / year
Turbines	Francis turbines 3 × 31.4 MW
Generators	3 × 37 MVA
	Others

The Kamburu Dam ( English Kamburu power station is) a hydroelectric power plant on the border between the counties Embu and Machakos in Kenya . It is located on the longest river in Kenya, the Tana .

Construction of the power plant began on June 29, 1971. The power plant was commissioned on July 5, 1974. It is owned and operated by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen). After the Kindaruma power station, Kamburu was the second major hydropower station to be built after Kenya gained independence.

Barrier structure

The barrier structure consists of a dam with a height of 56 m. The length of the dam crest is 900 m. The dam has a flood relief with four gates.

Reservoir

When the reservoir is full, it extends over an area of around 60 km² and holds 123 million m³ of water.

power plant

With an installed capacity of 94.2 MW, the Kamburu power plant is one of the medium-sized hydropower plants in Kenya . The average annual production fluctuates with the water flow of the Tana: it was 348 million kWh in 2008 and 489 million kWh in 2007.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) estimated the average annual generation prior to the construction of the power plant at 355 million kWh, although it should be taken into account that the Masinga power plant with its storage lake had not yet been built at that time . The Masinga Reservoir plays an essential role in regulating the water flow of the downstream power plants.

The three machines of the power plant were put into operation on July 5, 1974. The power plant's Francis turbines have a maximum output of 31.4 MW each and the generators 37 MVA . The turbines were supplied by Litostroj , the generators by the Končar Group .

The maximum height of fall is 82 m.

Others

The total cost of the power plant amounted to 47 million USD . The IBRD estimated the total cost of the project (including a 220 kV line with a length of 104.5 km to Nairobi and a 132 kV line with a length of 14.5 km to the Kindaruma power plant) at USD 37.469 million in February 1971.

The IBRD granted the Tana River Development Company Limited on June 7, 1971 a loan of US $ 23 million for the construction of the power plant. The following assumptions were made to cover the cost of capital: Sale of the generated electricity for 3 US cents per kWh and depreciation of the dam over 80 years and the electrical and mechanical system components over 30 years.

The power plant is part of a chain of five hydropower plants on the Tana - Masinga , Kamburu, Guitaru , Kindaruma and Kiambere - which together have an installed capacity of 567 MW. In the 1970s, feasibility studies were carried out for the expansion of hydropower on the Tana, which envisaged a cascade of eleven power plants. But so far only the above five have been implemented.

Web links

Power Plant Location Map. Kenya Electricity Generating Company , accessed February 7, 2015 .

Individual evidence

↑ APPRAISAL OF THE KAMBURU HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT TANA RIVER DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED REPUBLIC OF KENYA. (PDF 4.4 MB p. 17 (9)) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), accessed on February 9, 2015 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d KAMBURU POWER STATION. Kenya Electricity Generating Company , accessed February 9, 2015 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Kamburu Hydroelectric Power Plant Kenya. Global Energy Observatory, accessed February 9, 2015 .
↑ ^a ^b IBRD, APPRAISAL, p. 50 (Annex 7)
↑ Martin M. Bunyasi: Vulnerability of Hydro-Electric Energy Resources in Kenya Due to Climate Change Effects: The Case of the Seven Forks Project. (PDF 249 KB p. 2 (37)) (No longer available online.) Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, December 2012, archived from the original on February 9, 2015 ; accessed on February 9, 2015 .
↑ Hydro power plants ( Memento from February 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
↑ IBRD, APPRAISAL, p. 51 (Annex 8)
↑ LOAN AGREEMENT (Kamburu Hydroelectric Project) LOAN NUMBER 745 KE. (PDF 1 MB p. 5 (5)) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), accessed on February 9, 2015 (English).
↑ IBRD, APPRAISAL, pp. 65-66 (Annex 15)

[wo1-1] APPRAISAL OF THE KAMBURU HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT TANA RIVER DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED REPUBLIC OF KENYA. (PDF 4.4 MB p. 17 (9)) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), accessed on February 9, 2015 (English).

[ke-2] KAMBURU POWER STATION. Kenya Electricity Generating Company , accessed February 9, 2015 .

[geo-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Kamburu Hydroelectric Power Plant Kenya. Global Energy Observatory, accessed February 9, 2015 .

[wo1_50-4] IBRD, APPRAISAL, p. 50 (Annex 7)

[ar-5] Martin M. Bunyasi: Vulnerability of Hydro-Electric Energy Resources in Kenya Due to Climate Change Effects: The Case of the Seven Forks Project. (PDF 249 KB p. 2 (37)) (No longer available online.) Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, December 2012, archived from the original on February 9, 2015 ; accessed on February 9, 2015 .

[ko-6] Hydro power plants ( Memento from February 10, 2015 in the Internet Archive )

[7] IBRD, APPRAISAL, p. 51 (Annex 8)

[wo2-8] LOAN AGREEMENT (Kamburu Hydroelectric Project) LOAN NUMBER 745 KE. (PDF 1 MB p. 5 (5)) International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), accessed on February 9, 2015 (English).

[9] IBRD, APPRAISAL, pp. 65-66 (Annex 15)