Working with local resources requires imagination and vision. Those were qualities required in Mali, where we are planning to retrofit an agricultural irrigation dam to serve the added purpose of electricity generation. The run-of-river dam already makes use of one of Mali’s greatest natural resources – the Niger River. By adding turbines and other equipment to one of 14 existing sluice gates, we will be adding 10 MW of generating capacity to the country’s grid, without impacting any of the dam’s other functions. Learn more.
The 150 MW Asa Branca Wind Farm, which we now are constructing on Brazil’s northeast coast, is helping that country diversify its generating portfolio. The easy solution in Brazil is another hydropower plant – that technology already provides more than 90% of the country’s electricity supply. However, the wind at the Asa Branca site is near-constant, with little turbulence, making it, too, a unique energy resource. With commercial operation expected in January 2013, Asa Branca is expected to supply enough electricity to support 340,000 homes. Learn more.