PNG Hydro Development Company’s new Edevu Hydro project is the latest project to address the long-term investment deficit in Port Moresby’s energy grid.

The Edevu hydropower project is now operational.

First approved for development in 2015, the Edevu hydropower plant has been built to generate 50 MW for the over-loaded Port Moresby power grid.

The new facility came online at the end of October 2023 with a 20MW test and has coincided with PNG Power’s upgrading of grid infrastructure – new express feeders, poles and upgrades to existing hydro projects like Rouna 1 – a program that is supported by US$66.7 million from the Asian Development Bank.

Back-up power

Edevu is the latest of eight energy projects so far undertaken by PNG Hydro Development Company, a subsidiary of Chinese-owned AG Investment Limited. Managing director Allan Guo says Moresby should expect “more, better power” as a result.

“PNG has about 20,000 MW of potential hydro power. Right now, including Edevu, we have used about two per cent”

He adds that the company is supporting the hydro with a renewable-based back-up system:

“We are installing a 1MW solar floating on the reservoir,’ he told the 2023 PNG Mining and Petroleum Investment Conference. “This year, we are expecting El Niño [to bring less rain].”

The floating solar, which will be increased to 5MW, is one way of keeping the electricity flowing if water volumes are lower than expected.

Untapped potential

PNG Hydro Development’s Allan Guo  Credit: BAI

Guo’s experiences have convinced him that hydropower has huge untapped potential in PNG.

“If you look at the World Bank Report in 1994, it says PNG has about 20,000 MW of potential hydro power. Right now, including Edevu, we have used about two per cent of that potential energy,” he says.

“In PNG, we are tropical, we have a lot of rainfall and we also have a lot of forest coverage – which is a natural reservoir for hydro, to regulate the flows.”

PNG Hydro has identified several sites with similar potential to Edevu, including in Enga (20MW), Finschafen District in Morobe Province (20MW) and on the Purari River (25MW) in Gulf Province.

The company is also looking at new products in the green energy space.

“Capturing CO2 and hydrogen, which is made from our hydro, we can produce hydrogen and green methanol, so that’s our next plan,” says Guo.