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World Small HydropoWer development report 2013
www.smallhydroworld.org
SWAZILAND
Published in 2013 by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP).
2013 © UNIDO and ICSHP
All rights reserved
This report was jointly produced by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP) to provide information about small hydropower. The document has been produced without formal United Nations editing. The designations employed and the presentations of the material in this document do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of UNIDO and ICSHP concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or its economic system or degree of development. Designations such as “developed”, “industrialized” and “developing” are intended for statistical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development process: Mention of firm names or commercial products does not constitute an endorsement by UNIDO or its partners. The opinions, statistical data and estimates contained in the articles are the responsibility of the author(s) and should not necessarily be considered as reflecting the views or bearing the endorsement of UNIDO and its partners.
While every care has been taken to ensure that the content is useful and accurate, UNIDO and ICSHP and any contributing third parties shall have no legal liability or responsibility for the content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or for any loss or damage caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with reliance on the use of such information.
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Recommended citation: Liu, H., Masera, D. and Esser, L., eds. (2013). World Small Hydropower Development Report 2013. United Nations Industrial Development Organization; International Center on Small Hydro Power. Available from www.smallhydroworld.org.
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1 Africa 1.4 Southern Africa 1.4.4 Swaziland Wim Jonker Klunne, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa Key facts
Population 1,386,9141
Area 17,364 km2
Climate The climate is temperate in the west, but may reach 40°C in summer in Lowveld region.
Topography The western half is mountainous, descending to Lowveld region to the east. The eastern border with Mozambique and South Africa is dominated by the escarpment of the Lebombo Mountains.
Rain Pattern
Rainfall occurs mainly in the summer and may reach up to 2,000 mm in the west.
Electricity sector overview Power in Swaziland is supplied and distributed by the Swaziland Electricity Company (SEC), which was established in 2007 by the Swaziland Electricity Company Act. SEC currently has a monopoly on the import, distribution and supply of electricity via the national power grid. The SEC also owns a majority of the country’s power stations. There are five other private power stations. A substantial amount (nearly 25 per cent) of energy used in Swaziland has been self-supplied. The SEC operates four grid connected hydropower plants: Edwaleni (15 MW), Ezulwini (20 MW), Maguduza (5.6 MW) and Maguga (19.2 MW) installations. In December 2010, the SEC decommissioned the small-scale 500 kW Mbabane station, built in 1954, due to unprofitability. A reform of the energy sector has been undertaken recently to reduce the monopoly of the utility (it changed from a board to a company in 2007), to establish a regulatory body and to preserve the state company as a more disciplined corporate entity.
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Figure 1 Electricity generation in Swaziland Source: Clean Energy Portal – Reegle
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Note: Data from 2007.
The overall electrification rate is 27 per cent, with an estimated 40 per cent access in urban and 4 per cent access in rural areas.
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Approximately 80 per cent of Swaziland’s electricity is imported from South Africa through the SAPP. The remaining 20 per cent of the electricity requirement is generated by hydropower (figure 1). Biomass, especially wood fuel, constitutes about 90 per cent of the total energy consumed and is still dominant for use in cooking and heating in rural areas. Not only biomass is the major fuel used by households, but it’s also the major source of electricity self-generation in the sugar, pulp and saw mill industries. Small hydropower sector overview and potential Currently, no official small hydropower definition exists in Swaziland. The first electric lighting system to light up at night in Swaziland was installed at Mlilwane with a 42-kW small hydropower turbine operated by James Weighton Reilly. Since then several public and private hydropower plants have been installed in the country, as well as hydraulic ram pumps to provide water for steam locomotives at the Ngwenya mine.
Figure 2 Small hydropower capacities in Swaziland Source: Knight Piésold Consulting
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Several studies have been conducted to estimate the hydropower potential of Swaziland. In 1970, the UNDP financed a study which identified 21 possible sites for hydropower schemes.
4 Based on existing
information, the Environmental Centre for Swaziland comes to a gross theoretical potential of 440 MW and a technically feasible potential of 110 MW, of which 61 MW are economically viable.
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The latest full study on hydropower potential in Swaziland showed that there are a number of potential micro (<0.1 MW), mini (0.1–2.0 MW) and small (2–10 MW) hydropower generating sites along the rivers in the country. The available potential for both micro and mini hydropower is about 8 MW
(figure 2).3
Examples of small hydropower projects: The 800 kW small hydropower plant of the Swaziland Plantations company was initially commissioned in 1952 and was later built to satisfy power needs of the town Piggs Peak. The water is taken from the Mkomazana River and stored in a 35 metre high dam, before being fed into a 1.75-metre-diameter, 300-metre long tunnel. It is then connected to the
80%
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penstock. During summer, when there is an abundance of water, the plant can provide up to 90 per cent of the company’s power needs.
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Current operations are largely dependent on water availability in winter and dry season production being about a quarter of summer’s production.
Figure 3 Map of potential hydropower sites in Swaziland Source: Knight Piésold Consulting
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Renewable energy policy In 2007, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy formulated a strategic framework and action plan with the aims to:
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Establish a centre for demonstration and education on renewable energy and sustainable energy.
Encourage and enhance, where applicable, topics on renewable energy and energy in general in educational and training curricula.
Maximize the use of renewable energy technologies wherever they are viable.
Promote greater understanding and awareness of renewable energy resources and the associated technologies.
Develop and maintain accurate renewable energy resource data and make it available to all, in order to make informed policy decisions regarding sustainable energy use and supply.
Develop woodlots in areas where there is an acute fuel wood shortage.
Increasing electricity prices and reduced reliability of the national grid have resulted in increased interest in
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rehabilitating old defunct hydropower plants. Although no good overview exists on possible sites for refurbishment, it can be expected that a number of sites will be economically feasible to rehabilitate. This will also revive interest by potential investors. References 1. Central Intelligence Agency (2012). The World Factbook, Available from www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ 2. Clean Energy Portal – Reegle (2012). Country energy profile: Swaziland. Available from www.reegle.info/countries/swaziland-energy-profile/SZ. Accessed 30 March 2012, 3. Knight Piésold Consulting (2001). Report on hydropower potential: Final Report. Knight Piésold Consulting. 4. United Nations Development Programme/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (1987). Swaziland: Issues and options in the energy sector. No. 6262-SW. United Nations Development Programme/World Bank ESMAP. 5. ECS (2004). Environmental indicators for Swaziland: energy. Available from www.ecs.co.sz/indicators/natural_resources_energy.htm. Accessed April 2012. 6. Renewable Energy Association of Swaziland (2004). Renewable energy in Swaziland: Case study brochure 2004. Mbabane: Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy. 7. Swaziland, Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy (2012). Renewable Energy. Available from www.gov.sz/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=480&Itemid=361. Accessed December 2012.
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