Page 11 - AfrElec Week 21 2021

AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec

Lekela to install 175 MWh of battery storage

at Senegal’s Taiba N’Diaye wind farm

SENEGAL AFRICA-FOCUSED independent power pro- electricity into the Senelec grid in 2020. The
ducer (IPP) Lekela Power has chosen Denmark’s facility consists of 46 wind turbines capable of
DNV to carry out a feasibility study for an elec- delivering 158.7 MW of power. The wind farm
tricity storage project at Senegal 158.7-MW’s contributes 15% of the electricity produced in
Taiba N’Diaye wind farm. Senegal.
Lekela, owned by UK investment fund The project is Senegal’s first utility-scale wind
Actis and Mainstream Renewable Power, plans energy project and aligns with the government
to build a system capable of storing 40 MW of of Senegal’s strategy of increasing clean electric-
power, featuring batteries housed in 45 40-foot ity production and diversifying Senegal’s energy
(21m) shipping containers. mix.
The storage system will provide 175 MWh DNV currently has 1,300 MW of capacity
of electricity, enough to stabilise the grid of the across projects in Egypt, Ghana, Senegal and
Senegalese utility Senelec. South Africa.
The DNV study will be funded by a grant In South Africa, it now operates 360 MW of
from the US Trade and Development Agency utility-scale capacity at Noupoort, Loeriesfon-
(USTDA). tein 2 and Khobas, all of which were developed as
According to Lekela Power, DNV will help part of the South African government’s Renew-
“develop the technical specifications of the bat- able Energy Independent Power Producer Pro-
tery storage system to ensure a successful techni- curement Programme (REIPPPP).
cal solution that will provide services to the grid Lekela is working towards financial closure
during its operational life of up to 20 years”. In for the 150-MW Ayitepa wind project in Ghana.
addition, as part of its new contract, DNV will It already has a 25-year PPA in place with Elec-
be involved in negotiating the power purchase tricity Company of Ghana, as well as a grid
agreement (PPA) for the storage system between connection agreement with the Ghana Grid
Senelec and Lekela. This will be the first PPA Company.
for storage in Senegal, and potentially in West It is also developing the 250-MW Gulf of Suez
Africa. wind farm in Egypt.
Lekela plans to start construction of its elec- The plant will diversify Egypt’s energy mix,
tricity storage system in 2022. DNV therefore reduce electricity costs and lessen reliance on
only has a few months to complete its study. more costly energy resources.™
The Taiba N’Diaye wind farm started feeding

Week 21 27•May•2021 www. NEWSBASE .com P11