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Protecting the Cahora Bassa Hydropower Plant
Published on 31 Jan ‘21
Protecting the Cahora Bassa Hydropower Plant
Protecting the Cahora Bassa Hydropower Plant

PROTECTING THE CAHORA BASSA HYDROPOWER PLANT

Learn how Bolina LSB600 is protecting the Cahora Bassa Hydropower Plant in Mozambique.

Hidroeléctrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB) is Mozambique’s pre-eminent hydropower generation company, and it is a major contributor to the country’s socio-economic growth and development. Its main focus is in extending the electricity potential of the Cahora Bassa dam – Africa’s fourth-largest artificial lake.

Located in the Tete Province of Mozambique, the lake started in the 1960s as a project of the Portuguese. The intention was to build and operate a hydroelectric generating station, along with a high-voltage direct current transmission system.

The Hidroélectrica de Cahora Bassa operated hydropower plant provides much of the power to the national grid in Mozambique. As such it is a critical installation, being the largest hydroelectric scheme in Southern Africa. The water impounded behind the 170-metre-high reinforced concrete dam (which was constructed in the 1970’s) stretches an incredible 280km upstream. It is subject to severe fluctuations in levels, due to rainfall and other weather conditions.

As a result, the plant had been experiencing ongoing operational problems with waterborne debris. The floating debris was overwhelming the existing boom, which had been in place for a number of years and could not hold the debris back. In order to overcome these issues and to increase the reliability of the installation, a new solution was urgently needed.

Therefore, the Ecocoast Team was approached by the client to find a solution that would benefit all stakeholders. The team initially spent time discussing the requirements with the client and analysing conditions on the lake, especially around the plant. They then proposed that a robust and reliable custom Bolina LSB600 be installed. It would provide much better protection to the plant than the existing boom.

The Solution

Protecting the Cahora Bassa Hydropower Plant
Bolina LSB600 installation

The LSB600 Bolina’s Log Screen Boom is developed from their highly successful Traffic Control Booms tested to over 60-tonnes. It incorporates a subsurface mesh joined together to provide a seamless barrier for logs and debris with full articulation provided between units.

The unique tubular backbone of this boom system and the Bolina lug connections make the boom immensely strong. It does not stress the floats, which are fully demountable with the booms designed for continuous motion and heavy loads.

A total of 380 metres of boom were shipped from the United Kingdom (UK) in containers to Cahora Bassa. This together with an impressive gate assembly, designed by the Ecocoast team to match the strength of the LSB600. The gate was included to allow the passage of maintenance boats either side of the boom. It was the largest that Ecocoast had constructed to date.

Shipping in itself was a logistical challenge to arrange the safe delivery of all the materials and fixings required to construct the boom. Spare parts would not be available locally if any were missing on arrival. It was critical that every single part arrived safely and in the shipment.

In order to ensure that assembly and installation went smoothly, one of the Ecocoast Field Engineers travelled to site to assist with the assembly and construction of the boom. The work was undertaken by local workers employed by the power company using readily available hand tools. The complete construction of the boom on site only took two weeks. It was then simply floated into place and secured in position, utilising the end connections from the previous boom.

The installed boom works as designed, and captures and diverts much more debris than the existing boom. This has both increased the operational efficiency of the plant and reduced the need for the maintenance team to clear debris from around the intakes.

Download the datasheets here. Alternatively, get in touch for further discussions on how the booms can help solve your pollution and critical infrastructure problem today!

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