DRC plans to build world's largest hydro dam as Ukraine war shifts global energy demands | DW News
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- čas přidán 21. 04. 2022
- As the Democratic Republic of Congo ponders plans for the world's largest hydropower dam, DW News Africa asks: What's in it for the average citizen?And we meet the Congolese nun who is generating goodwill in the community by producing power for her neighbors.
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#Ukraine #energy #DRC
That nun is amazing, went off to get an electrical engineering degree so she could come back and build an electrical power supply for her village
Fox, she's an electrician, not an EE. The two careers are commonly conflated in the 3rd World.
The DRC needs electricians far more than it needs electrical engineers, BTW.
EEs don't run plants -- they design them.
Power Engineers run plants -- but not tiny ones.
Her plant is but a bump up from a Honda generator. It's an off-the-shelf canned design -- oriented entirely for the 3rd World.
And yes, I'm impressed. She's got the 'right stuff.' There are simply not enough DRC citizens with her gumption.
@@davidhimmelsbach557 There are actually, I'm one of them. I'm currently studying abroad and getting the necessary skills to empower my people. Majoring in computer science and minoring in finance. I'm not the only one as there are many out there like myself studying various fields. We will be going back in the coming years to tackle the issues that the country faces after we have the necessary knowledge and experience. You need to remember that up until this point, the DRC has never had anything remotely close to "stability." War has been waged on since the 1960s. But ever since 2018, a new government came into place from a peaceful transition of power. Making minor reforms daily to necessitate the move forward. This sacrifice came at the cost of 21+ million people's death since 1885.
Distribution is just as expensive as generation, people seem to gloss over this fact. If they don't squander the revenues, it would certainly benefit the country in the long run.
they are Africans. Please keep that in mind.
the results wont be the same.
Congo has absolutly mind boggoling Hydro power potential, but the energy should be used in Africa to allow it to develop without carbon emmisions, these load centers are closer and will require less transmission lines to reach. If fully tapped the Congo would generate nearly half the power output of the continent. The big oportunity for exports will be Nigeria which can fill the oil and gas demands of Europe most efficiently due to proximity. I'm highly skeptical of hydrogen exports, their are no ships that can carry it, no terminals to recive it and only a tiny set of potential customers, basically Petro-chemical refineries, and hydrogen derived from hydro-power would be undercut by hydrogen derived from natural gass. Any plan to use hydrogen for industrial purposes is best done with the production and consumption at the same location so you don't need to store or transport it.
Right now china build the biggest hydro electric dam in the world and look up there set up it will give you an idea in real world condition
Definitely. Hydrogen makes sense on paper with proper investment, but I think it's used by fossil fuel companies as an excuse for keeping gas infrastructure while pretending it will eventually use green hydrogen
hydrogen from gas is not green. That's the point your missing
We also want to export Hydrogen from New Zealand
Damming a river is not green. DRC should install a nice clean Nuclear power plant for internal energy demand and forget about exporting hydrogen to Europe.
if the inga dams were running to capacity, there is more enough electricity capacity to power all of africa, the problem is the corruption in DRC
there's no way that's anywhere near true.
Lol no. No dam can power the whole continent. Thats is far from reality.
@@u.p.1038 i lived in the congo for 15 years, you would be shocked at the power of the congo river, even outside of kinshasa. in september, you could get between 6 inches and a foot of rain in an hour
Corruption is africa..? You mean the billions that the West gives to that continent goes to corrupt politicians and warlord and not to the people that need it.?
@@Augfordpdoggie their corruption goes twenty foot high too.
The problem with a new dam, it will take a very expensive infrastructure to deliver a spark the further away the more expensive delivery and maintenance will be. It's not about green energy it's about selling power, it's about jobs and all about money over a long period. The solution is smaller, localized solar sites, cheaper, reliable and much less maintenance.
Germany already has solar power on many houses, the problem is that the ebb and flow of power is more expensive to manage then what people realize. Also it’s badly affect industrial area since they can’t rely on battery power compared to say cars and houses.
Urrrr right bravo finally a intelligent life & here we r looking 4 it in outer space donate sperm u r a rare individual 1000 thumbs up
Very insightful... Hydrogen production for Europe without generating power locally for industries, commercial centres and large residential areas will be unethical and criminal.
AND the Hydrogen could produce electricity where there aren't other ressources....in Congo.
Hydrogen as a power source is hugely inefficient. And then to think you are going to ship it to Europe is totally nuts
And by powering the country they mean only to power Kinshasa and other areas around it; the interior of the country isn’t under the control of the central government in Kinshasa, or if it is it’s at unstable odds with its partners…
The distribution network necessary to power the whole country like in the west would cost billions of dollars they don't have. Plus it is all wasted if the clients can't afford an electricity bill.
Awesome Nun. Now she needs to train young people to maintain the power station.
DRC has amazing solar potential. 1kWp = 3.8kWh per day, on average, all year round. Getting villages electrified with solar and battery storage, is probably the smartest way forwards. There is no need to create a full country grid with solar this plentiful.
But it will take several years still until used old panels and old batteries are so pervasive that they "naturally" end in africa (like so much of european almost waste does -- cfr milkpowder and chicken legs), and for the first time since forever, european waste could finally help build up the local economy in central african instead of destroy them.
And, in mix with Inga, it would be as important, but mean about 4 times more than Inga based on low-waters.... ( débit d'étiage)....
The greed of western companies just amazes me
Uhh yeah there isn´t rampart corruption inside the DRC. It´s just all about the evil westerners.
Any where hydro can be utilized it should be top priority as long as construction is top notch. Only down side is any archeology sites will be permanently unavailable to research.
homes, forest & farmland .. gone .. underwater
@@coraltown1 unfortunate
Dams are a blemish on everything living. True story. It is the single worst way to harvest hydro power. I completely disagree with your notion. How power is transformed matters.
@@mattmiller2842 and the huge debt these poor Africans will be saddled with for decades .
haha ... haha... archeology... that's the least of the worries! it is rather the corruption, the incompetence and the debts to be paid which it is to fear! hydrogen, the war in ukraine .. all this look like a scam!
I can understand the historically-referenced hesitations people have about building power mainly for export, but the alternative is asking a government who does not have the money to fund large power projects to do just that, without foreign assistance. However DRC stands to gain handily from exports of power and/or hydrogen, enabling the government to solve the power crisis itself through its own coffers resulting from the increased capital raised by these sales, provided it isn't squandered.
When did what you are talking ever benefits Africans?
We can not keep making the same mistakes as before.
Time for Africa look after Africans first before any export outside Africa.
@@mafiooato7233 The issue is finding western funding to build the dam which DC does not have. Even a world bank loan still needs DRC needs to find their share which they don't have. Offering H to the west is one way of attracting European funds that countries like Germany/Italy and Spain might fund the DRC share. A deal to upgrade the grid could be part of any Dam deal and that would boost the current dams generation.
@@stephendoherty8291 no,DRC does not need a loan from the west,DRC can generate the money itself, by not wasting money on unnecessary expenses like buying more weapons. Taxing all western companies that don't pay tax in DRc to pay with interest
@@stephendoherty8291 the west does not help Africa, Africa should also not help the west
@@mafiooato7233 brilliant reply!!! ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
It take a lot of money, expertise, and discipline to build and manage a giant dam like this.
A small loan China can help in return for DRC Export goods to China; Mostly metal ore.
Absolutely, but small and profitable businesses like a pharmacy can solve the power outages with a proper backup battery ans eventual solar panels on the roof if there is space. Sure, batteries are not cheap, but is a lot easier to set up than a dam. the battery investment will be returned in few years maybe a decade, but a dam will need decades.
Please strongly consider hydro water tower power generators. The fact is dams displace much land use and this affects all things living.
You can use pressure to force the water up a tower where it will fall and turn a turbine of appropriate size. The best part is all the moving parts can be self contained so little to no risk of injury by anyone or anything. Also these could be place anywhere so long as you have a water source to feed it. This means you do not need to displace anyone or anything living. The best part IMHO is that everyone needs water to live anyways, so you can tackle two problems simultaneously and efficiently at that. The towers can be scaled up as demand grows as well. I would imagine they could be camouflaged to blend in with the natural landscape as well.
The solution you are suggesting is only a way to store energy, not to produce it. You have to put in at least as much power to pump the water up the tower as you will get out of it at the end. Even less due to losses of friction.
Why do you need the tower, if you have water at higher pressure (presumably from a.natural reservoir upstream) then just run it through a turbine - the problem is rains tend to be seasonal so you don't get the constant output a dam typically provide.
Perpetual motion! Use the energy of the turbines to pump the water back up into the tower.
That's literaly one of the most ignorant comment I have ever heard. The resivour behind a dam is exactly the the gravitational water storage your proposing, but your instead putting it inside of steel/concrete towers. To store the same energery you would need to blanket an area of land in such towers far greater then the area that a resivours cover. Go learn basic physics before you start posting such drivel.
@@edc1569 have you been to the DRC? Rain occurs annually, it sits on a very tropical area where heavy rainfall is the norm. I know this because I'm from there.
No, if projects in DRC do not profit the population, then foreign projects shouldn't happen. Africa is not for sale. We're sick of bad planning and pillaging.
This should help Africa. The dam will make them money which they can spend on other things such as food. At least in theory.
@@sebastianlindberg3120 And that food will come from where, precisely? The worlds ecosystem is in crisis, ad with the weather globally becming more energetic and more variable, crops are becoming less reliable than they used to be, but our population keeps growing. The solution to the current crisis is NOT simple - it involves less damaging ways to produce power, greater energy efficiency in things we make, reversing the massive ecological damage we have done to the planet, and finding new ways to produce sufficient food that neither poison nor starve the soil as Western large-scale monoculture agriculture tends to. There are a number of potential solutions to each of the many individual problems that we need to tackle, the trick is to fnii the best one in each case. There are NO easy answers. In fact it's the application of "easy answers" without considering the consequences that has got the planet into this mess. And yes, it's the develped nations that caused this - we should, IMO, pay for whatever is needed to fix it as a gift to the world.
@@esmenhamaire6398 It’s good to think the way you are, yet the world isn’t unified in that way what so ever. Why should Japan fund a mega dam in the Congo when it has its own energy problems at home. Also population and food aren’t a great many problems: where ecosystems change for the worse in some areas they certainly improve others may that be in the Sahel, Siberia, or Argentinia and allow forth new agricultural hot spots. Population will reach its peak when technology allows nuclear families, in the western sense of course, to expand and is then accompanied with as steady decline in population as is being seen today in Japan and Russia.
I think the DRC government should get the best deal it can in terms of revenue from the new project and then use the money to build out micro grids throughout the country using solar and storage. It makes no sense for the country to cut in corridors for power generation if there is no development to pay the bills later.
i feel like DRC is like a god sent key toward clean energy, the gigantic dam, cobalt for battery.
It is but the people need to benefit from that too. However up until 2018 we have civil wars since 1960s. So with proper gouvernance, policy reforms and infrastructure projects. The world and DRC could indeed benefit. Much like how Saudi Arabia transitioned.
Only some lithium based batteries require cobalt. LifePO4 based batteries require none of it and it is likely to power your life soon as well.
That community hydro dam is awesome, good for her and her people.
Congo should do what go for her citizens and environment. Don’t be fooled by some investors and investments. Cobalt war is a great example.
Then Congo will stay poor and primitive
Go Africa! Such huge potential for renewable energy and bootstrapping it's economies. Big challenge though, from an investment and political stability point of view.
China will finance them. And as soon as they miss ONE payment China will own the whole country!
Need real energy from nuclear
@@babylon5reimaginedseries congratulations, you have been brainwashed by the West. What significant improvement has the West done to Africa except fueling up insurgents like TPLF, Boko Haram, ISIS and Al-Qaeda? China is not perfect for sure, but they've significantly improved lives in certain countries.
@@thegreataynrand7210 Most of the biggest power plants are hydro dams.
@@mutotowamwema Yeah they have. Look at what they did to Entebbe airport in Uganda! They touched up the paint a little and now they own the whole thing! Even the USA never thought of that trick! We have to keep that in mind next time we want to usurp another African country! Congratulations, you've been brainwashed by the CCP!
Amazing fully support this.
Why are they not constantly putting in more solar and wind as a priority? Seems to me that the Democratic Republic of Congo have an enormous abundance of both; a boundless potential which allows for local electric generation everywhere in the country where people are. Is there a focus on extracting minerals from the DRC for foreign sales over uplifting all of the people of the country? That is not a good thing if so.
a lot of smaller dams restores the water table. way cheaper to build too.
that's one awesome nun!
Yes.
Alphonsine Ciza is a hero to us all! She deserves our support. ❤️
Rural electrical distribution has always been subsidized even in Developed countries, theirs is nothing special about DRC in this regard. I think though that people ovestate the problem of getting power to remote villages, that's a transmission problem. Once you have a substation stepping down power from a main line a village is sufficiently compact to be very easily be wired up. Supplying any populatin center over a few thousand people is quite doable even over long distances. It's the romote farm houses miles away from anyone else which are the real problem where your looking at miles of line per house connected. Given the costs of thouse most inefficient lines an offgrid solution may actually be preferable and given DRC resources this would mean solar as wind is practically non-existent over the Congo basin due to the equitorial doldrums and topography.
I'd be interested to see the wildlife impact review. The DRC is incredibly biodiverse.
I'm sure it would help the people. But it ought to at least be weighed against the wildlife. If it is then determined to be a net benefit, then go forward.
But if some highly valued, exotic creatures would become endangered, it might be better to find a different energy source.
Totally agree. I think such dams are never good.
Thats the least of worries, the biggest worries is that it is not going to benefit congolese, just like the rest of the resources.
Energy is needed more than the wildlife. Drown it all.
Heard this story since 1960. Too much corruption and inefficiency to allow this to work.
Small hydro is awesome, kudos to nun engineers!!!
Step 1: Refurbished and Improve capacity of Inga 1 and 2
Step 2: Interconnection between various hydro power plants in DR Congo
Step 3: Construction of Katende Dam 1 integrating flow battery storage of 200 MW to support the interconnected grid stability
Step 4: Deploy Inverter-based power resource in the Congolese power systems
Step 5: Build the great Inga so that at least 60% of the electricity produced can be exported
These steps can help the country meet its local power demand while exporting surplus power
It is necessary for the country to diversify its income sources in order to prevent any adverse surprises in the future due to the depletion of mines (cobalt, copper, gold, etc.).
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The Congo River is 17 kms wide at some points ,that river is massive and hugely untapped
The DRC could be the wealthiest country in Africa IF they had a decent government with less corruption,
unfortunately this is not going to happen this decade.
Green energy is the best, thank you ,from belgium
how do they fund this hydro dam?
How DRC will afford a dam? They’re a poor country. But the positive thing is that they have a lot of resources like Colton.
Poor because everyone sees the DRC as a cake and it has been robbed for centuries. Potentially very rich, not just coltan 70% of the world 's, cobalt 50% of the world's reserve, uranium, gold, diamonds, oil, gaz etc. This country is blessed and its only curse is its blessing.
The wonders of credit and loans do wonders…that is until you realize their interest attached
Hydrogen is a difficult and costly means of energy storage and transport and the Congo is too far from any major demand to justify transmission lines. Massive hydro power stations are only justified if there is a local demand like an aluminium smelter.
Transmission to other parts of Africa is viable though, large amounts of power already go to SouthAfrica, sending transmission up to Nigeria and the West African coast would be wise as these areas are developing rapidly.
Right on looks good on em. You'll be giving a lot of people well deserved jobs. Congrats.
God bless you sister 🙏❤️💞🎈👍
@5:45 is Kamanzi at his farm??
The same country whose cobalt mines are currently being exploited by the Chinese - great change in direction by the Congolese! More independence from superpowers! Those cobalt mines belong to them as well - I wonder if they will ever reclaim them like the Arabs reclaimed their oil fields from colonizers.
How much cobalt is there in the debris left of the formation of this solar system?
@@tenguayaqa7116 That's why I hope for space colonization more and more, being able to mine the Asteroid Belt and other planetary bodies would solve so many problems for humanity
Cobalt is not food, not a necessity of life. Cobalt is just one of the hundreds of raw materials used to make batteries.
The Congolese don't have the technology to process cobalt, and they don't need so many batteries, so they sell cobalt to get money to buy other necessities. What's the problem?
Oh yeah the Chinese, lets just pretend Europe and SPECIALLY FRANCE are completely innocent in this matter.
@SMGJohn Oh no, I'm not saying they're innocent at all. As producers and buyers of electric cars, the western world is complicit as well.
Bet it will be big
3:40
It will benefit the DRC the instant their government develops the infrastructure to transmit the electricity. It's reasonable they get their fair shake from their local resource. But in the current moment they have essentially nothing from that resource. Why be so cynical towards people that are looking to develop it?
I get what you mean, but you need to understand that the reason the man is so skeptical is because he has probably lived through 2-3 brutal regimes that made promises without action. The last time Congo actually elected a government official was in 1960 and he was assassinated. So with this new peaceful transition, we hope that what you're saying about benefiting the people actually comes true. Since the new administration has actually been taking the necessary steps to move into that direction. From reforming mining contracts, to investigating irregularities, to joining the EAC, and now moving into action with infrastructure projects like roads, schools, housing for the poor and security of the country. But only time will tell what that will bring. And I will continue to educate myself and get the necessary skills abroad that I can bring back to my country.
Nun and electrical engineer! Amazing
0:45 Ah, glory pantsu! A man of culture I see... XD
Congo and all Africa countries needs to invest in solar power for Africa, solar power is the way forward to Africa and will makes us very rich people and countries rich and developed
Inga can even produce a lot more in a mix, to not exploit but the low waters.
Electrolyses of congolese minerals makes more sense...
Local consumption can often by other means, lack of information...? For instance, as diesel : palmoil convenes , it is the only oil of vegetal origin that can serve a motor without braking it.... doesn't need diesterisation. It can also help for electricity....when a local situation needing it, is out of reach or to difficult to reach ( question of price and maintenance of equipments).
They present this like there is some contest between power supplied to the local grid, and power exported. The Hydrogen price would have to be exponentially greater than it is today to justify export. It's just obvious that they would be selling almost all of that energy to local grid that possesses that demand. If there was something to be concerned about it's that in a place like the DRC, one might need to be very careful to avoid slave labor. Other than that this really is a storm in a teacup.
The local DRC demand would never be able to buy all that power, it's more then the whole of Africa currently uses. It's about if the nation is going to build the distribution grid to allow areas other then Kinchasa to get power, or if the only connections will be for the export industries to buy the power.
@@kennethferland5579
"The local DRC demand would never be able to buy all that power,"
So?
It still addresses the chicken egg scenario. i.e. having power to distribute. If Fortescue can sell any amount of electricity to the local population, I don't see them refusing. The issue is the absence of infrastructure to deliver the power. The IMF should be developing that infrastructure.
Thank God it’s not a Chinese proposal
Interesting on how people do not know Congo. Please visit Congo. Inga dams are expensive and can built for industries only for ROI. Congo has a lot of lakes and small rivers where hydro dams can be built for households as well as solar panels
when war in ukraine stop.. life will come back to normal..
Tanzania is largely hydro-power powered, I have been told. This is not mentioned here.
In all developing Nations the population growth outstrips energy production
Not a bad plan really but would be hard to get off the ground and run properly with the current DRC government…
Dear Deutche Welle, Might you have an economic advisor?
If you did, she'd explain to your listeners that the energy Australia plans to sell to Europe can be viewed as an export (like oil or gold), that will generate much needed foreign exchange.
She would also explain that the current excess capacity existing at the Inga Dams is a representation of a massive inefficiency that should be exploited to meet household energy needs of the Congolese, long before the debate on whether Congo should control exports even makes sense.
This video was full of people discussing a non-issue; full of heart and no head; As if DW was more concerned about appearances rather than what would actually help the Congolese.
Dear DW, You can discuss Africa in a serious way. You just have to trust that the principles in Africa have the framework within which to understand what you are saying.
Even if you insist on using Africans to discuss Africa, it's implausible you couldn't find Africans capable of discussing an economic issue from an economic perspective.
Instead, as you often do, the issue was discussed as a purely anthropological one.
The presenter didn't even know what questions to ask. But that's excusable if you could find an undergraduate economics major to explain why trade is good; especially when the current situation is so wasteful.
up to 7 dams can be constructed and that's more energy than the whole of Africa can use
Catholics have always taken good care of the needy out of the purity, Love and care of our big, brave hearts✝️☦️✝️
Who can financil the project?
The nun is the hero.
And to think Egypt wanted to prevent the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam smh
Green Hydrogen?
Green Hydro and Hydrogen are not necessarily the same.
You could use the electricity from the Hydro Electric turbines to produce Hydrogen and ship that hydrogen as a fuel to be burned somewhere but 99% sure that will not be happening.
The dam stores water on one side, flows water into turbines that spin an electric generator producing electricity. Hydro isn’t Hydrogen Power.
"You could use the electricity from the Hydro Electric turbines to produce Hydrogen and ship that hydrogen as a fuel to be burned somewhere" ... Yes, that's what this video is about. That's the plan, why are you so sure that it will not happen?
@@Kaepsele337 hydrogen is incredibly hard to store and transport. There is no real good container that doesn’t leak. Lets say you need hydrogen fuel somewhere. Its almost always better to produce the hydrogen where you need it, transmit the Hydro Electric power through power lines to the site that needs the hydrogen. At the site, the stick the electrode and cathode in the water, run the current and bam. Most hydrogen fuel cells will have this feature built in. Just add water and charge the cell with electricity. Point is, the power lost via cables is far less than the power lost through leaking hydrogen.
If you really want stability, the dam is great… just add water towers locally, where the power is used. Less waste over long cable distances and functions exactly the same way the dam does, but smaller. Have excess capacity on grid? Pump water up the tower to store energy. Need more power? Run water down through a turbine that spins a generator. Doesn’t leak or potentially explode like hydrogen but if you want, this water towers will help you locally produce green local hydrogen. Of course, in case of a bad drought, water towers lose less water to evaporation that a dam might.
@@TheGelatinousSnake All that you say is true, but I think with all the challenges there are to transporting hydrogen, it's still easier than to lay reliable power lines from the Congo to Australia or Europe. Even if building the power lines was possible, at some distance the losses from the cables becomes larger than the losses and inefficiency of using hydrogen... after all, there probably is a reason why they'd want to invest in a hydrogen production facility.
@@Kaepsele337 all the more reason tried and tested water towers are useful. You can build one in ever town so energy can be stored locally with far less transmission loss via cables. To Australia or Europe? Easier yes, but the losses wont be worth it. Even if you use hydrogen fuel to use ships to transport hydrogen. Ships go to slow, that leak container will have more time to leak. Trains are very fuel efficient but require land route, Europe maybe but no land route to Australia. Power lines are the most efficient. Next is pipelines but if you thought oil pipelines leaked, hydrogen leaks more than that. Congo should worry about exporting power, 1st step is energy surplus.
Dam is mostly energy storage, china has some of the largest dams in the world. When they start shipping hydrogen, try to improve whatever they are doing. But before then I would not put all my eggs in the hydrogen basket.
@@Kaepsele337 I would listen to guy at 4:00 , saying the Congo needs to first address the energy needs of locals.
They can do that by building up their own grid and providing power to the people of the Congo. When the grid is large enough, they can connect to neighboring grids and sell surplus energy to their neighbor. That neighbor can sell their surplus to their neighbor etc.. all they way to Europe if their is enough surplus. If their isn’t enough surplus to sell to Europe, then the Congo shouldn’t exploit itself
The DRC could also use hydrogen fuel cells to power its electric needs. There are already units developed to power industrial cites, hospitals and more to allow them a steady source of reliable power.
Sales of hydrogen could also bring a big return to the DRC economy.
Ur funny
Hydrogen is a liquid battery i.e. it costs energy to make and loses even more when used. Using ever more energy is not sustainable. Neither is using more and more material intensive systems, since recylcing them after is also an energy hog. So much better to set up stuff that is mechanical, made out of easy to fix components/materials that don't polute when dumped and can last for a very long time. I would really like for Afrika to take the next step into realistic sustainable systems that we (stuck in our fixation for more compex and more energy) can learn from. Let the eternal student become the master.
@@hillockfarm8404 ... Ummmm... no. The dam would generate electricity just like any hydroelectric dam. That can then be used to power a local electric grid and use some of the water it holds back to create hydrogen gas. This can be cooled and transported for export or to power hydrogen fueled generators in the DRC. Such systems are already in use, and hydrogen fuel cars are already on the road. The DRC could use these ideas to put it ahead of the curve in being energy independent and a major energy exporter.
Or you can continue to look at the problems and not the solutions.
hydrogen-electricity conversion is highly inefficient both ways, that makes no sense.
How much costs such a unit?
Hydrogen is tradable and transportable. So Congolese people would compete with Europeans and Japonese for it.
Do you think they would be able to pay the same price for it?
Good thing, read at leisure phone at lunch time if possible
The biggest mistake President Etienne Tshisekedi made is to borrow part of the loan from the World Bank to fund the construction of Inga dam Hydro-electric power station because of tough conditionalities and strings attached. He should have taken the example of the great Rennaisance Hydro-electric power station financed much by public fund. Actually the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not even need to borrow money from the World Bank and Western governments because it has valuable minerals, agricultural potentials that can generate sufficient state revenue to fund the vital infrastructure development projects , education, healthcare and research, and ensure food security.
DRC should focus on supplying power to Africa
They should that already!
Great idea...get on with it ASAP.. Its highly likely that no one will use hydrogen in the EU...so don't worry about it, just imagine the boost if the area of the economy got "free" electricity the DRC would see within 10 years a serious differences to the remotest areas.
How many years is a century
how many yrs is a century?
how many yrs is a century?how many yrs is a century?
The problem with Africa is that the dam will be built and no one will see the money and power cuts will continue
Yes, I think with the Congo's war issues still, nuclear is a bad anyway...but any renewable sources to get all the global reliance of fossil fuels down
they are doing it weong they should use solar to pump water back up and use the dams as a battery too
Is electricity accessible throughout all of Russia? It's a thought that occurred when I watched this video.
I don't think that's even an issue. Russia has a lot of problems , but AFAIK lack of electricity isi not one of the real concerns. It's the countries that need Russian gas that are talking about…oh geez, HYDROGEN?! From AFRICA? Do I understand this right? That's just lunacy. Even if you could create it and export it to Europe economically, which I think is a pipe dream, it's not a direct substitute for natural gas. That hydroelectricity absolutely needs to be used IN Africa, where it will do orders of magnitude more good.
Me right at 4:20: bro has the thiccest secretary I've seen in ages, BRB moving to the DRC god Damn!
I thought that this was already done with the IMF-money sent for this MEGA-project. Was that another dam?
This is THE BEST NEWS EVER....!!!!!!!!!!😅😅😅😅✨✨✨✨😅😅😅✨✨✨
in america some native americans are just now here in 2022 getting electric in their homes and good drinking water
I noticed on the map it is near a border. A dam is causing problems between Egypt and Sudan. I hope this won't be similar. Countries must accept that whole rivers belong to all nations they flow through not just the section in their country.
Nop, affluent rivers run westward within the Congo all the way to the embouchure to the Atlantic
@@MrNeversweat The source is in eastern Africa. What if they cut off the headwaters?
@@silencemeviolateme6076 false, the river flows entirely inside the DRC. That is how huge the country actually is.
@@mutotowamwema can't be false I never said it did or didn't. I didn't know.
@@silencemeviolateme6076 Then why would the DRC cut off their own river?
I would love for an independent company to track all of the Russian oil tankers that are turning off their trackers just to see how many are actually going to the EU if you don't know what I'm talkin about look it up ever since the war started Russian tankers have left Port without a destination and turn their trackers off
You don't need to ruin huge swathes of land by building a massive hydro electric plant. If the pharmacy has his own solar power source, problem solved.
Why is Germany not buying its oil and gas from Norway?
I was reminded of this because of the hydroelectric power stations Norway has!
Norway already is at max capacity
We do. But Norway has limits in what they can produce. Germany as a country with still a big industry and chemical sector just needs to much of it. Norway delivers about 30,6% of the natural gas and 11,8% of the oil consumption. But oil is easier to substitute, since we don't rely that much on Russian pipeline infrastructure.
@@matteloht Thanks, now I know!
Africa's population is growing exponentially, for sure theu will need energy in one form or another. But as with anything, it will end in corruption, conflict, abandon and dismay...
Make the dam already.
Hydrogen produced from hydro electricity isn't climate neutral as he says at 0:23. That 'huge concrete wall' he describes at 3:02 requires cement and steel production which create 16% of emissions between the two of them. And other parts of the dam will require a large amount of earth moving. Like most environmental activists, he is either ignorant or a liar.
Absurd comment. The majority of environmentalists warn against flooding terrain.
Climate is ok
@@thegreataynrand7210 I agree.
@@silencemeviolateme6076 Lol.
Greens do not support new dams generally due to methane bursts from flooding.
The economic 'logic' of Inga III is up-side down. Forget hydrogen. It's too costly to ship.
Instead: reduce alumina to aluminum, mass produce ammonia and ammonium nitrate, run chlor-alkali plants -- direct reduction of iron ore to sponge.
"Simandou, a 110-kilometer range of hills deep in the hinterland of Guinea in Western Africa, boasts the world's largest untapped iron ore reserves."
These are all economically rational projects that would, obviously, massively stimulate local employment. (Daughter industries)
If extra power is available, sell it as electricity to neighboring nations.
All of the industries detailed above ^^^ are power pigs that would otherwise consume traditional fuels when produced elsewhere.
The plants, themselves, could easily be erected near the coast and along the river.
Iceland built an alumina reduction plant and its associated hydro-power dam. It's a money spinner -- all the way around.
"Karahnjukavirkjun is a Hydropower plant in Eastern Iceland, designed to 4600 GWh annually to serve Alcoa's aluminium smelter east of Reydarfjordur..."
Agree that hydrogen export is incredibly dumb idea, suspect it is being employed here a 'hypedrogen', non-carbon based smelting processes are indeed the best solution as Iceland has done, the potential for zero-emmision steel production is also huge, the Sweedes have developed a great system for this.
@@kennethferland5579 I really like the direct reduction of ore to iron sponge because it produces less slag than coke (CO) reduction... and clean skies... and no (met coal) mining fatalities....
Iron sponge is in demand -- everywhere.
It also must lead to the DRC becoming a viable steel producer --> electrically (vacuum) melted premium steels. Every market wants them. The prize goes to the boys with the lowest cost electric power.
The DRC, itself, produces a lot of minerals that could be refined/reduced with hydro-power. Suddenly, that nation would have a shot at building out its railroad grid, power grid, Internet.
Giving free power to hick farmers does not advantage them. Plugging them into the rest of the world --> THAT would transform their lives.
Give people power. If the don't put the money in it go off
With DRC's internal forever political uncertainty, we will be still talking of this project come 2100!
I don;t understand why the plant cannot be servicing the local people as well. I would pose it as green points for the company. Just a thought. The wealthy residents can afford to install their own solar, wind and or geo sources and the top of the line batteries. Inspire them to do it with tax breaks. But get them to do it. Your people deserve better. There are always pros and cons about every energy project. I hope this one works both environmentally, for the country and its' people. Its important for everyone world wide to keep knowledge of and innovate upon old technologies that do not require electricity. It has been done, is being done and must be done. We all can learn from one another how to best build better for climate extremes, and to bring back living soil. I do my small part and am always learning. I can see why they want hydrogen. I'm not convinced either. Although I live in a Western country where winter is a huge issue, I am trying to do more and more by hand like my parents and their parents did. I would look at personal solar and solar plants for local. Myself I would like to get a solar oven for cooking.
Such a huge sacrifice of the river ego system to make hydrogen that nobody needs right now... bad move I think.
Development and powersupply need to go primarily to development in DRC, the overflow can be sold to the South into South Africa and then look for industrial development and production of Hydrogen in DRC and sold abroad....
Africa needs to start looking after its own development and uplifting of the people in DRC via mining development etc.
Inga 1 and Inga 2 need to be optimised and operated to their full extent.
Africa has Sun and wind for further Green energy development also to advantage of all the people in Africa.
Africa has enough skilled engineers and industrialists to do the development internally to the benefit of the people of Africa. NO NEED to involve the Chinese, they just stole from Africa and leave a trial of Environmental damage behind.
The story of the initiative by the Nun is a prime example of working to the advantage of all the communities...
Large dams are not climate neutral. Too many of them can ruin irrigation--just look at China. There is subtle long-term impact which quickly adds up if the water flow is limited over a wide area, causing bodies of water to dry or stagnate.
Inga is not an irrigation damn, the Congo basin gets far more rain then it needs because it's in the tropics, and the vast majority of the nations territory is above the damn not below it.
Hi from Australia RDP Marine Australia GOT a Question for you
your looking to make a dam OK good so far but this is the question
Why are there no multi staged turbine halls IF as i was told it's due to surging to the turbines i found that to be wrong you can fit three banks of turbines in the flow and have no issues SO WHY IS IT NOT BEING DUN??
How green can a dam be if it destroys the environment down river?
If they are also willing to pay for the ecological cost of such enterprise - be my guest. That however means, to preserve the genome of any species affected by this project. To have the means to be resurrect them, when technology has surpassed the need of this primitvie type of energy production. There is always the possibility, to cull the population of the one species, that causes all this trouble in the first place.
You strike me as a realistic person who finds practical solutions to problems. And certainly not a nutbar crank.
@Mephisto von Jäkelstein But leaves nasty blue stains in the wall plaster from prussic blue :) Oxigen deprevation in nitrogen-argon atmosphre seems to be a better option. Just some misanthropic thoughts though, not actually serious about this.
Interesting. So many things look topsy-turvy in Africa. Despite so many smart, capable, good-willed people ! 😩
There are many smart and capable person in Africa.
They aren't in the Congolese government...
so why you are not support ethiopian HEP project ?
The DRC should allow foreign investors to build Grand Inga and use the power generated, all on their own cost and profit.
In return DRC would receive a small share of the power for free. Even 10% would be 3-4GW of free power. After some decades - sufficient for the investors to write off the investment and make some profit - the power station will become the property of the DRC.
The investors could sell the power to neighbouring countries or use the energy for aluminum smelters, production of ammonia and nitrogen fertilizer and other very energy intense products that are needed in large quantities and easy to transport and export. All this industry would be built close to the power station, creating jobs and tax revenues in the region.
Everybody would win:
- Investors make profit.
- DRC receives electric power, tax revenues and finally the largest power station in the world for free.
- The people in the region benefit from employment opportunities and economic growth.
- Global green energy transition is boosted, protecting the climate.
You didn't mention South Africa using Congolese electricity while people in the country can't benefit of their rightful resources.
Just doesn't feel right right when the local need to energy but it will be sold to Europeans. I understand the need of foregin investment and thus the control power is in others hand.Nonetheless, this just doesnt feel right.