Southern Africa’s Zambezi Basin is facing a problem with its latest hydrodam proposals which could result in costly, under-performing technology. According to a new study from International Rivers, the proposed hydrodams have not been designed to face extreme drought or handle damaging floods.
The area is set to see 13 GW of hydropower, but the reports said that “existing and proposed hydropower dams are not being properly evaluated for the risks from natural hydrological variability.” According to Dr. Richard Beilfuss, Africa’s fourth largest river will experience worse droughts and more extreme floods. “Ensuring energy and water security in the Zambezi River basin for the future will require new ways of thinking about river basin development,” Dr. Beilfuss said. “We must avoid investing billions of dollars into projects that could become white elephants.”
The report also said the designs for two of the larger dam projects, Batoka Gorge and Mphanda Nkuwa, are based on “historical hydrological records and have not been evaluated for the risks associated with reduced mean annual flows and more extreme flood and drought cycles. Under future climate scenarios, these hydropower stations, which are being based on the past century’s record of flows, are unlikely to deliver the expected services over their lifetimes.”
“The region’s energy planners and governments must acknowledge these hydrological risks, and take steps to improve planning and management of large dams in the basin,” notes Beilfuss. “At minimum, existing and future dams should undergo a thorough analysis of climate risks.”
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