Temperature - European Investment Bank

WEST AFRICAN POWER POOL (WAPP) PÖYRY ENERGY LTD.
Mount Coffee HPP ESIA and RAP 2012-09-18
ESIA Report Page 26
5.2 The Case of Mt. Coffee HPP
In a first general appraisal, concerning the list of main types of impacts given above, the
following can be said for the specific case of Mt. Coffee HPP:
1. Interruption of a river continuum. This is certainly the case for Mt. Coffee
HPP.
2. Change in river discharge pattern downstream of the dam. Given the fact that
MC HPP is a ROR structure with a very limited regulation capacity, the effect
will be small.
3. Change from river to lake conditions in a part of the former river at the
formation of the reservoir.
4. Destruction of terrestrial habitats. The reservoir will cover an area of about 8.1
km². Obviously, these habitats are just what could develop in the 20 years
since the breaching of the dam.
5. Access to the area provided by new access roads. In the case of Mt. Coffee
HPP, no new access road needs to be built, since access is provided by existing
roads.
6. Social impacts. The main social impact is the fact that the power plant will
considerably improve the electricity supply in the county. The main negative
effect will be the relocation of six settlements and the loss of some areas which
are currently used for agricultural purposes; this will have to be compensated.
The effect of the construction phase (job creation on the local, regional and
national scale; influx of population from outside) also has to be considered.
While in this sense Mt. Coffee can be considered as a “normal” hydropower project
producing the effects generally associated with such projects, it still presents a condition
that makes it different from most other such projects for which an ESIA has to be done,
namely, the fact that it is not a new project: there already was a reservoir and a
functional power plant until the dam was breached 20 years ago.