60 MW Bumbuna Hydro-electric Upgrade Project
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Context & History
The Bumbuna-1 hydropower plant, initially designed with a 200 megawatt (MW) capacity, but implemented with a capacity of just 50 MW, is critical to Sierra Leone’s energy infrastructure. The plant consists of two 25 MW turbines, a regulator dam upstream, a powerhouse and an electricity evacuation substation onsite, connecting to a 161 kilovolt (kV) line to Freetown. The plant was commissioned in November 2009 and generates power at optimal capacity for about half a year. This is followed by a season of low capacity in the drier months, with a season of total shutdown for major repairs for about a month during the dry season.
A feasibility study for the expansion of the dam has been undertaken with the support of the Millennium Challenge Corporation. The study explored the possibility of increasing the dam’s generation during the wet season, when a significant flow is released via the spillways. The proposal, therefore, is to install two additional 30 MW turbines, increasing the total capacity to 110 MW. The implementation of this upgrade will double the amount of renewable energy generation in Sierra Leone’s energy mix, putting Sierra Leone firmly on the path to tripling the contribution of renewables to that mix.
