The Board of Directors at the African Development Bank (AfDB) have agreed to a first rank loan of 51.26 million euros to finance the construction of a 120-megawatt combined-cycle dual-fuel diesel power plant in Malicounda, Senegal.
The project also includes the construction of a transmission line some 200 meters long which will connect the power plant to the existing Senelec 225 kV high voltage substation, as well as the extension of this substation. The duration of the construction works is estimated at twenty-two months.
The works to be carried out consist in particular of dual fuel combined cycle power generation installations, comprising diesel fuel groups operating on heavy fuel oil easily convertible to gas.
“The government of Senegal, with this conventional energy project, further demonstrates its ambition to achieve its contribution objectives set in the Paris Agreement. Indeed, renewable energies must be coupled with a basic energy to ensure the stability of the Senegalese power grid, “said Amadou Hott, Vice President of the Bank in charge of the complex Electricity, Energy, Climate and Green Growth.
“The technology implemented for this project allows the passage of heavy fuel oil to gas. This echoes the goal of the Senegalese government to convert all the country’s thermal power plants to gas by 2025. The project is therefore timely, “said Wale Shonibare, Director of Financial Solutions, Policy and Practice. of energy regulation at the Bank.
This project is in line with the government’s ambition to develop its industry and meet the growing demand for energy – about 7 to 8% per year. The electricity produced by the power plant will be transported by the existing 225 kV Mbour-Sendou-Kounoune transmission line, connected to the interconnection grid that supplies the country’s main consumption centers.
The energy produced by the power plant will be evacuated via Tobène and Kounoune to the Dakar region which consumes more than half of the national electricity demand.
To date, the Bank’s cumulative commitments in Senegal amount to almost € 1 billion, spread over 26 ongoing operations.
