As Senegal strives to bring its renewable energy use up to 60% of its total energy generation, the country is planning its first wind farm which would be the largest for the West African region. The 125-MW project, dubbed Project Eoilien Taiba Ndiaye, is to be located about 75 km from Dakar.
French developer Sarreole, in its first international development, will sell 100% of the electricity garnered from the wind farm to the state-owned utility Société National d’Éléctricité du Sénégal (Senelec), pending approval of the long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). A major milestone occurred on May 30 as Senegal’s Designated National Authority for Carbon Credits approved the project, a gateway for the UNFCCC Carbon Credit registration process which would allow the country to sell carbon credits to third parties. Project advisor Eric McCartney told Alternative Energy Africa that the carbon credits would completely subsidize Senelec’s electricity price. He said, “Our way of giving back to the country and the reason in our opinion the concept of carbon credits were created.” McCartney added that on his firm’s analysis, carbon credits would be valued at 0.9 cents and 1.5 cents per kWh.
The project has been in the pipeline for nearly five years and is just awaiting three things: presidential signature on the renewable energy law passed by Senegal’s Parliament in December, finalization and signature of the PPA with Senelec, and the financial close. Once these loose ends have been tied up, 50 wind turbines (2.5 MW each) will be installed with Sarreole hoping to have an official groundbreaking ceremony in September. McCartney also told Alternative Energy Africa that the project will be constructed in one phase taking approximately 21 months to complete.
The developer is currently in negotiations with investors interested in the project, and two companies have been short-listed. The Taiba Ndiaye is expected to cost around €230 million, but McCartney said that total was likely to decrease depending on final negotiations with a turbine manufacturer. He did disclose that the interested investors were bringing their own financing which are “not likely to include the World Bank.”
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