Technical and economical evaluation of hydropower grid connection in Burundi

Abstract

The Swedish company, African Power and Water are in the phase of starting to construct a hydropower plant in the Kaganuzi valley, 40 km north of Bujumbura, Burundi's capital. The purpose of the thesis is to analyze the grid in order to find the best point of connection for African Power and Waters hydropower plant. The grid is simulated in order to identify bottlenecks for power transfer and overload in the system using Power World Simulator. The thesis also takes into account the construction of two similar hydropower plants and their planned connection to the grid. It is found that the best connection for the KAGU006 hydropower plant is to use a T-o connection on the passing 110kV power line. The connection shows the lowest total costs, losses and environmental impact. The results also shows that the grid needs to be expanded or upgraded in order to handle the increased power generation, regardless of connection point for KAGU006. It is also found that a vast majority (97%) of the people are currently using wood and charcoal to meet their energy needs. A transition from a wood based energy system to an electric based energy system will have great impact on electricity consumption and the grid in the future. In order to support this transition Burundi is in need of a more detailed master plan regarding their future electricity generation and distribution.