Generator sets to the largest hydroelectric power plant in Cameroon

The largest hydroelectric power plant in Cameroon will be powered by Genesal Energy. We participated in the project through the supply of emergency power to the electrical construction, which will allow the country to increase its installed electrical capacity by 30%.

The power plant is undoubtedly a key infrastructure in the development of Cameroon, where the electricity supply network, together with the transmission network, are the great pending issues of a country that spires to become the greatest emerging economy of Central Africa in the next 5 or 20 years.

The Cameroonian government’s mid-term goal is to provide sufficient energy capacity to meet the needs of its citizens.

Guaranteeing access for all countries to affordable and non-polluting energy is a commitment made by the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda through the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7, which at Genesal Energy we have incorporated into our Plan of Social Responsibility.

The project involves the design of three customized generator sets: two of 1000/1100 kVA to power the plant’s facilities, and one of 100/110 kVA to be used at site during the construction process. Once the plant is finished, this smaller unit will become back up power for the facilities too.
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¿Why is this a special solution?

In facilities of this kind, there are essential loads that must be powered permanently for the correct operation of the plant, as for instance, water treatment systems or lubrication pumps that need to run continuously so that a safe shutdown can be guaranteed in the event of an emergency situation, (e.g., a power outage). This is precisely the role played by one of the supplied generators.

The client required the generator sets to be fully managed, controlled and monitored from the generator’s own control panel. The control philosophy is that the diesel generator is connected to a main board and this in turn to the feeding busbars of the installation’s essential loads. In this case, at Genesal Energy we designed a generator set system to work either in parallel or alternatively, depending on the client’s loads needs (it is the case of the emergency genset).

In these gensets, it is possible to indicate a preferential start of Generator 1 or Generator 2, depending on which one is required to start fist. We also manufactured a fuel system consisting of four tanks: two daily tanks of 1000 L and two nurse tanks of 10 000 L in order to ensure long periods without refuelling the generator.

Difficult location

The difficult conditions of the location where the hydroelectric power plant is built forced our engineers to take additional steps to avoid any risk and guarantee the gensets’ operation at any time and in any situation. Thus, a fuel transfer system has been designed allowing the fuel to be pumped or transferred in such a way that, if any part of the system is out of service, the other can be used without problem, ensuring the control unit’s continuous power supply.

Our participation in the construction of this plant reinforces Genesal Energy’s presence in Africa and specifically Cameroon, a key state in our international expansion strategy due to its great energy opportunities. In this sense, our company has already participated in several projects related to the modernization of its infrastructure aimed at improving the living conditions of Cameroonians.

One of the latest projects carried out in this African country has been the design and installation of the electricity supply to a water treatment plant, which is a fundamental installation to bring drinking water to populations of the country that still don’t have a proper supply.

Features

Two units of 1000-1100kVAs, open type
One unit of 100-110kVAs, soundproof type, off-road trailer
Custom fuel transfer system, both automatic and manual, for 4 fuel tanks, 2 of 1000L and two of 10 000L capacity.