Voith has been contracted by Communtauté Electrique du Bénin (CEB), a Beninese-Togolese joint venture, to carry out extensive rehabilitation and modernization measures at the Nangbeto hydropower plant, which has been in operation for 35 years on the border between the two countries.
The aim of the work is to secure the plant's operation for at least another 30 years and to modernize its auxiliary facilities.
The €22 million order includes the refurbishment of the generators, tcavitation inspection of the turbines and the replacement of the blades as well as the rehabilitation of the cooling system. In addition, the automation and communication infrastructure will be overhauled. A water treatment plant will supply the neighboring communities with fresh water. To ensure smooth operations for the next 30 years, the modernization of the supply buildings and the switchyard are also planned.
The work is to be completed by autumn 2022 and will be carried out during operation, meaning that at least one of the two units with a capacity of 32.5MW each will always be connected to the grid.
The construction work on site will be carried out entirely by local companies so that additional jobs can be created in the region during the project period. To enable the employees to better handle the plant after the ??extensive modernization, CEB uses the opportunity and takes advantage of Voith's training offer.
"Nangbeto is currently the only power plant that simultaneously supplies Togo and Benin with renewable energy. We are proud to make this plant fit for the future," explained Heike Bergmann, Senior Vice President Sales Africa at Voith Hydro. "The project and the successful cooperation with our local partners provide us with a good basis for further modernization projects in Central and West Africa. Overall, the African continent has an enormous untapped hydropower potential. We want to use this potential to sustainably expand the regional power supply".
