The Ministry of Electricity has begun production of 16 MW from a hydropower station in Assiut, which has a total capacity is 32 MW. Sources at the ministry told Daily News Egypt that a committee from the Water Stations Authority started the trial operation three weeks ago, and connected the capacities produced from a unit at the station to the national electricity grid, starting with 8 MW, then the capacity was gradually increased to 16 MW. The sources added that the ministry was not in a rush to operate the station commercially with half its capacity thanks to the electricity production surplus. The test and operation of 16 MW is expected to continue in May. The station will operate commercially with its full capacity of 32 MW in June. The Assiut station comprises four hydro units. The capacity of each is 8 MW. It provides about 50,000 tonnes of fuel worth EGP 100m annually. The station also contributes to reducing carbon emissions through generating more environmentally friendly electricity. The sources added that about 227 cubic metres of water will be injected per second in order to operate each turbine of the station. The average produced energy from the hydropower plant is estimated to be 240m kW per hour. Mohamed Osama, the chairperson of the Water Stations Authority, said that the implementation of an electricity generation station using the system of pumping and storage is underway in the area of Ataqa mountain with a capacity of 2,440 MW. The implementation will be done by the Chinese Sinohydro through facilitated financing by 100%. This project will contribute to supporting the unified electricity grid. It will also be used for storing the produced electricity. Regarding small projects undertaken by the authority, Osama said that feasibility studies are being conducted in order to utilise the small weirs in the Delta along the Nile to maximise the utilisation of all watercourses in Egypt. ................
