Masinga power plant

Masinga power plant
	; Image wanted
	location
Coordinates	0 ° 52 '50 " S , 37 ° 35' 21" E Coordinates: 0 ° 52 '50 " S , 37 ° 35' 21" E
country	Kenya
place	Counties Embu and Machakos
Waters	Tana
Height upstream	1056.5 m
	power plant
owner	Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA)
operator	Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen)
construction time	1978 to 1982
Start of operation	1981
	technology
Bottleneck performance	40 megawatts
Average ; height of fall	49 m
Expansion flow	90 m³ / s
Standard work capacity	129 to 232 million kWh / year
Turbines	Kaplan turbines 2 × 20 MW
	Others
Website	Masinga power plant
was standing	2014

The power plant Masinga ( English Masinga power station ) is a hydroelectric 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 in 1978. The power plant was commissioned in 1981. It is owned by the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA) but is operated by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen).

Barrier structure

The barrier structure consists of a dam with a height of 60 m. The length of the dam crest is 2,200 m. The volume of the structure is 4.95 million m³. The dam has both a bottom outlet and a flood relief .

Reservoir

In the event of a full damming (maximum 1,056.5 m during flooding) the reservoir extends over an area of around 120 km² (with a length of 45 km) and holds 1.56 billion m³ of water. The minimum congestion destination at which the machines can still be operated is actually 1,037 m. On June 26, 2009, the machines were switched off after the congestion target had fallen to 1,035.5 m. At that time, the power plant was still generating 14 MW .

Due to its size, the reservoir plays an essential role in regulating the flow of water in the power plants located downstream.

power plant

With an installed capacity of 40 MW, the Masinga power plant is one of the smaller hydropower plants in Kenya . The average annual production fluctuates with the water flow of the Tana: it was 128 million kWh in 2008 and 232 million kWh in 2007.

The two machines of the power plant were put into operation in December 1981. The Kaplan turbines were supplied by Escher Wyss , the generators by ABB .

The maximum height of fall is 49 m. The maximum flow rate is 45.9 (or 45) m³ / s per turbine.

Others

The total cost of the power plant amounted to 172 million USD .

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.

Plans to raise the dam by 1.5 m in order to be able to expand the maximum storage volume to 2 billion m³ were rejected again. The cost of this would have been around USD 15 million.

Web links

Commons : Kraftwerk Masinga - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Power Plant Location Map. Kenya Electricity Generating Company , accessed February 5, 2015 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Masinga Dam. Salini Impregilo, accessed February 5, 2015 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Victor Juma: KenGen's bid to raise Masinga dam height suspended. Business Daily, February 26, 2013, accessed February 5, 2015 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Masinga Hydroelectric Power Station Kenya. Global Energy Observatory, accessed February 5, 2015 .
↑ Rob Jillo: KenGen closes Masinga Dam. Business & Tech, June 30, 2009, accessed February 5, 2015 .
↑ 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 .
↑ MASINGA POWER STATION. (No longer available online.) Kenya Electricity Generating Company , archived from the original on March 9, 2016 ; accessed on February 5, 2015 .

[sa-1] Masinga Dam. Salini Impregilo, accessed February 5, 2015 .

[bd-2] Victor Juma: KenGen's bid to raise Masinga dam height suspended. Business Daily, February 26, 2013, accessed February 5, 2015 .

[geo-3] Masinga Hydroelectric Power Station Kenya. Global Energy Observatory, accessed February 5, 2015 .

[bt-4] Rob Jillo: KenGen closes Masinga Dam. Business & Tech, June 30, 2009, accessed February 5, 2015 .

[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 .

[ke-6] MASINGA POWER STATION. (No longer available online.) Kenya Electricity Generating Company , archived from the original on March 9, 2016 ; accessed on February 5, 2015 .