Joule Africa Developing Hydropower Projects in Cameroon, Sierra Leone

---

Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Joule Africa (Freetown, Sierra Leone), a division of Joule Investments Group (San Francisco, California), has signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Cameroon to develop the $1 billion Kpep hydroelectric project.

The 450-megawatt (MW) project will increase the country's installed power generation capacity by about 40%. Located on the Katsina-Ala River, north of Bamenda, near the Nigerian border, the project is expected to be a catalyst in the economic development of the region.

The Cameroon government is planning to increase the country's power capacity from the current 1,037 MW to 3,000 MW by 2020 and is targeting the status of an emerging economy by 2035. Joule Africa will develop the project with a local partner, Bethel Industrievertretung, from Bamenda and Lahmeyer International (Bad Vilbel, Germany). The latter has broad experience in designing hydropower schemes in Africa. The new power project is scheduled to come on stream in 2018-19.

In 2011, Joule Africa signed a contract with Sierra Leone to expand the Bumbuna hydropower project to add 350 MW to that West African country's installed power capacity. Increased power capacity will assist this resource-rich country in replacing imported diesel and marine oil for its basic energy requirements.

In Joule Africa's profile, the company notes that Africa holds one-sixth of the world's population but currently generates only an estimated 4% of global energy, the majority of which is used by South Africa and Egypt. An estimated 70% of the 800 million people in sub-Saharan Africa are without access to modern energy sources. Industrial energy demand is rapidly climbing, driven by the continent's vast mineral wealth, which represents 30% of known world reserves. Investment is needed to harness the energy potential of the region, says Joule Africa.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, and eight offices outside of North America, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.