Gouina Hydroelectric Plant

Gouina Hydroelectric Plant
The power plant uses the natural drop of the Gouina Falls.
Official name	Centrale hydroélectrique de Gouina
Country	Mali
Location	Diamou, Kayes Region
Coordinates	14°00′41.40″N 11°5′59.8″W
Status	Under construction
Construction began	December 2013
Commission date	2022
Construction cost	283 billion FCFA
Power generation
Units under const.	3 x 46.6 megawatts (62,500 hp) Kaplan-type
Nameplate capacity	140 MW (190,000 hp)
Annual net output	565 gigawatt-hours (2,030 TJ) (estimate)

The Gouina Hydroelectric Plant (French: Centrale hydroélectrique de Gouina) is a run-of-the-river-type hydroelectric installation on Gouina Falls along the Senegal River in Mali. It is located about 18 km (11 mi) southeast of Diamou in the Kayes Region. It is the fourth project of the Senegal River Basin Development Authority and its ground-breaking ceremony on 17 December 2013 was attended by the heads of state of each member country. Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz laid the foundation stone. Preliminary construction had been suspended due to the 2012 Malian coup d'état and subsequent Northern Mali conflict.^[1]

The plant was inaugurated by the Malian Prime Minister Abdoulaye Maïga in December 2022.^[2] It cost US$329 million and the 280 km (170 mi) of transmission lines cost US$65 million.^[3] The project received 85 percent of its funding from the Exim Bank of China along with US$1 million from the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund and US$1.4 million from the International Development Association and European Investment Bank.^[4]

It has an installed capacity of 140 megawatts (190,000 hp) and will use the outflows of the Manantali Dam upstream to regulation water flow into the plant.^[5] A 1,230 m (4,040 ft) long weir just above the water fall directs water into a channel which will feed the power house just downstream of the falls. The power house contains three 46.6 MW Kaplan turbine-generators. The difference in elevation the water fall and weir provides a hydraulic head (water drop) of 22.5 m (74 ft).^[6][7][8]

See also

• Manantali Dam – upstream
• Félou Hydroelectric Plant – downstream
• Diama Dam – downstream

References

1. "OMVS launches Gouina dam project in Kayes region". African Manager. 19 December 2013. Archived from the original on 3 January 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
2. "Mali: inauguration du barrage de Gouina, sur le fleuve Sénégal". RFI. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
3. "Update of the ECOWAS Revised Master Plan for the generation and transmission of electrical energy" (PDF). West African Power Pool. October 2011. p. 6/17. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
4. Diarra, Soumaila (16 January 2014). "West African Countries Cope as New Mali Power Plants Abridge Electricity Challenges". AFK Insider. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
5. "Gouina". EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
6. "Macky Sall and three Heads of State inaugurated the central Félou and lay the cornerstone of the Gouina" (in French). Senegal News. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
7. "Scenarios et Simulations du Plan Optimal D'investissements" (PDF) (in French). Mali – Ministere de L’energie, des Mines et de L’eau – Direction Nationale De L’energie. 2008. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
8. "Dam Projects" (in French). Senegal River Basin Authority. Archived from the original on 3 March 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2015.