Impact of Climate Variability on Hydroelectric Power Production in Guinea: Case of the Kinkon Dam

In Guinea, analysis of the hydrological balance of recent years shows the severity of the impact of climate variability on the hydrological regimes of rivers. This would impact the productivity of hydroelectric dams. The illustrative case is that of the power plant located upstream of the Kinkon waterfall, on the Kokoulo River in Pita prefecture, built between 1963 and 1966. With an initial production capacity of 3.4 megawatts, Kinkon now produces only 1.6 megawatts, mainly due to the gradual reduction in water flow. The present work, which focuses on the impact of climate variability on the production of hydroelectric energy at the Kinkon power plant, aims to assess the main causes of the drop in energy productivity at this Kinkon power plant. The main data used are the rainfall in the area, the energy production of the power plant, and Landsat satellite images. The method used consists of calculating the monthly rainfall balance of the area as well as the energy productivity to determine the interannual variability. The calculation of anomalies made it possible to visualize the trend and the analysis of the correlation showed the linear dependence of the two variables (rainfall and energy productivity). A supervised classification of Landsat satellite images leading to the extraction of land cover made it possible to better understand the anthropogenic pressure on the area concerned. The results obtained show a downward trend in rainfall in the area, which in turn has led to a decrease in the plant's productivity. This decrease in rainfall is believed to be due to the strong anthropogenic pressure exerted on the environment in the area concerned.