Jonker Klunne Senior Researcher Rural Energy and Economic Development, CSIR, PO Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Energy experts say South Africa has moderate hydroelectric potential, and that the establishment of small hydroelectric projects around the country could help provide a … As the present capacity for hydro power stations < 10 MW listed in Table 3 is greater than the actual installed capacity (Table 1) it can be assumed that the real potential Country overview This section summarises the potential and current status of small hydropower in selected countries in southern Africa… Klunne, 2011). 23 July 2004. Table 3 gives an overall assessment of the different hydropower potentials in South Africa. Norway has developed competence at the highest international level within environmentally-friendly development and operation of hydropower plants. This is, therefore, a golden opportunity for the development of sustainable hydropower in Africa. an estimate based on reliable input sources and extensive research) for hydropower development in South Africa, stands at 12,160 MW, which is about 45% higher that any other previous estimate. This is especially the case in Africa with its vast untapped hydro potential. The Eastern Cape province the most hydro-potential in the country. About Hydropower Development. In Africa, the hydropower resource is still largely under developed, which means that there are still lots of technically good sites available. The Stortemelk hydropower project in South Africa has been recognised as an impressive example of sustainable small hydro development using an industry-leading assessment tool. And this is not just large hydro, but also pumped storage hydro and small hydro. hydropower development in South Africa with the exception of the mining industry [3]. Journal. The bi-monthly International Journal on Hydropower & Dams features research papers, case studies, project updates, business and financial news, and policy papers aiming to help advance the state-of-the-art of dam engineering and hydropower development. In future, renewable hydropower will remain the most important source of electricity production in Norway. “Applying the Hydropower Sustainability ESG Gap Analysis Tool at Stortemelk has demonstrated the high sustainability performance of this hydro plant against the leading global standard. In South Africa, the first new grid connected small hydropower station installed in 20 years was opened in 2009, with more under devel-opment. South Africa experiences seasonal flows and frequent droughts, which pose obstacles to the hydropower success. Small hydropower for rural electrification in South Africa - using experiences from other African countries W.E. As can be seen from Table 2, the estimate of firm potential (i.e. This was the first step in the development of the South African Hydropower Atlas (SAHA), which aims to highlight the renewable energy opportunities from hydropower in South Africa.