Hydroelectric energy
Internationally recognised, EDF's hydroelectric expertise is exported around the world. The Group has acquired the ability to design, build and manage projects that result in the signing of contracts around the world.
EDF designed and built the largest dam in South-East Asia: Nam Theun 2 located in Laos. This exceptional project, welcomed by numerous NGOs, was supported by the World Bank for its environmental and social characteristics. The EDF Group owns 40% of Nam Theun Power Company (NTPC), the company that has been operating the facility since 2010.
Exemplary support
As part of the programme implemented during the dam's construction and targeting those people who were displaced by the dam, NTPC has supported the construction of houses for all of the households concerned, two clinics and 32 schools, as well as the implementation of a programme to support economic activities (forestry, agriculture, fishing, etc.), which has helped improve the living conditions of local communities over the long term.
The first EDF Group hydroelectric project in Brazil, the Sinop dam, located in the state of Mato Grosso, was commissioned in October 2019, four years after construction began. With a reservoir of 352 km2 and a volume of 3 billion m3, it is designed to supply electricity to 1.6 million Brazilian households.
In November 2018, EDF signed a construction and 35-year operation agreement with Cameroon for a 420 MW hydroelectric dam on the river Sanaga, located at the height of the Nachtigal Waterfall, 65 km northwest of Yaoundé. Alongside the construction of the dam, a socio-economic development programme will be rolled out for the region. Operational commissioning is scheduled to take place in 2023.
The Nachtigal hydroelectric dam
Cameroon’s electrical development
Nachtigal is a national priority to safeguard the power system in Cameroon. The plant will cover 30% of the country’s energy needs, with almost 3 TWh of energy generated per year. The project will have significant economic benefits: up to 1,500 direct jobs at the height of the work, 65% of which will go to locals recruited in a radius of 65 km around the construction site.