To meet the high water demand in Hargeisa and to alleviate the stress on Hargeisa‘s existing groundwater aquifers , Hargeisa Water Agency in Somaliland is currently undertaking the construction of the first surface dam , Kalqoray . The dam is located 27km North of Hargeisa .
I don’t think that is visible. It would drain down within days. This type of electric generation requires an all-year running river which can replenish the reservoir as it loses water through the turbine system.
However, pumped hydro is a solution for Somaliland. Coupled with Wind Generation and Solar farm, the pumped hydro part will kick in when the sun goes down. When the sun raises the next morning, the reserve happens, the solar panel powered pumps move water from the sea to the high-ground dam. And the cycle continues.
This type of electric generation is perfect for regions where there is higher elevated ground next to a river or sea. Sanaag comes to mind.
When the Cement plant starts operating it should lower the cost of concrete to build more of these damns across Somaliland. They learned a lot from the successful Gabiley dam and now this one. With more experience we could emulate what Eritrea did in building dozens more dams.
