Guitaru is a functioning hydropower plant in Kenya , located on the Tana River . Its capacity is 225 megawatts. Construction began in 1975 , and was completed in 1978 . However, the power plant was commissioned only in 1999 . The US allocated $ 63 million for its construction through the World Bank [1] . The owner of the hydroelectric power station is KenGen , a company founded in 1954 , which generates up to 72% of all electricity in Kenya [2] .
| Guitar | |
|---|---|
| A country |  Kenya |
| River | Tana |
| Owner | KenGen |
| Status | acting |
| Year of commencement of construction | 1975 |
| Years of input units | 1999 |
| Main characteristics | |
| Electric power, MW | 225 |
| Equipment specifications | |
| Type of turbines | radial axial |
| Number and brand of turbines | 2 x 72 MW, 1 x 81 MW |
| Main facilities | |
| Dam height, m | thirty |
| Dam length, m | 580 |
| On the map | |
The 30-meter dam of the power plant holds about 16 million cubic meters of water [3] . The length of the dam is 580 meters. Two generators of 72 megawatts and one of 81 megawatts generate electricity. Jet turbines are of the radial-axial type .
2016 Incident
In 2016, a curious incident occurred at the power plant. It is not known how a monkey got into the territory of the station through a fence under high voltage. The animal ran along the roof of the building, but could not resist and fell into the transformer. As a result of this, the units were overloaded and the station lost about 180 megawatts, which led to an accident in the power system throughout Kenya. The monkey itself remained intact, and it was taken away by animal advocates from the Kenya Wildlife Service [4] .
Notes
- ↑ Kenya - Gitaru Hydroelectric Project (English) , The World Bank Group (June 18, 2010). Date of treatment June 10, 2016.
- ↑ KenGen 2013 Annual Report . Kenya Electricity Generating Company (June 30, 2013). Date of treatment June 10, 2016. Archived January 24, 2014.
- ↑ Kenya - Appraisal of the Gitaru Hydroelectric Project . The World Bank Group (23 May 1975). Date of treatment June 10, 2016.
- ↑ Kenyan monkey de-energized the entire country , Lenta.ru (June 8, 2016). Date of treatment June 10, 2016.