A combined cycle power plant project is likely to come up in Soyo, Angola, at an estimated cost of US$900 million. The natural gas-fired plant is expected to start operating in 2017.
The project, which includes several substations and transmission lines, is expected to produce 750 MW of electricity, both household and industrial.
In a combined cycle power plant, thermal energy from fuel is converted into electricity through two thermodynamic cycles: first from burning natural gas and then making use of the steam produced. The high voltage and very high voltage substations in the city of Nzeto (Zaire province), of Capari and Catete, both in Luanda, are scheduled for completion by mid-2016.
The Nzeto substation is the main one and will receive transmission lines from Soyo. One of these is a 400 kilovolt line for Luanda, one is 220 kilovolts to provide power to Mbanza Congo, Nóqui Tomboco and Cuimba and another is a 60 kilovolt line to Nzeto.