SENEGAL
POWER AFRICA FACT SHEET

Power Africa has supported the development of electricity generation projects in Senegal. In addition, various firms have received U.S. Embassy support to move transactions forward. The page below shows Power Africa's involvement and lists Power Africa’s financially closed transactions in the country, some of which are already online and generating critical electricity supply for the people of Senegal.

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A mother teaching a child under a light in Senegal
Sipane villagers show how solar power changed their lives.
Xaume Olleros

POWER AFRICA SUCCESS STORIES IN SENEGAL


Data-Driving Electrification: A Digital Dashboard is Helping Senegal Achieve Universal Electricity Access Goals
 

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Power Africa & Senelec Dashboard Training

 

Using Power BI, a data visualization tool, Power Africa and Senelec developed a bespoke, user-friendly dashboard tool to visualize electrification rates in communities nationwide, monitor and evaluate electrification projects, as well as provide Senelec engineers and leaders with up-to-date reports.

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Shaping Senegal’s Energy Transition Strategy
 

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Two children studying at a desk under a light

 

Renewable, cleaner energy options is key to Senegal’s drive to increase electricity access. Through Power Africa, the United States is providing technical assistance to help shape Senegal’s Energy Transition Strategy and build a climate-smart future for all.

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Expanding grid access for residents of rural Senegal

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Senelec closing event photo
Power Africa, USAID, Senelec, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energies of Senegal and other stakeholders at the formal review of Power Africa’s efforts with Senelec event in Dakar, Senegal

 

Senegal seeks to reach universal electricity access by 2025. Continued collaboration between Power Africa and the national electricity utility, Senelec, is helping to realize this goal. In the past year, we connected more than 200,000 consumers to the national grid.

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Improving Power Sector Planning in Senegal

Predicting power usage is critical to determining how much electricity generation capacity a country requires to meet demand and spur economic growth. In Senegal, a modernized forecasting tool developed with Power Africa assistance will help the national utility make informed energy infrastructure investment decisions to reach universal electricity access by 2025.

Identifying Opportunities for Universal Electricity Access in Senegal

Since 2013, Power Africa has helped Senegal’s national electric utility, SENELEC, roll out nearly 100,000 new connections in the country, providing power to approximately one million people. This is in consideration of Senegal’s 2013 population census report which indicates that one rural household holds an average of 10 persons: Rapport Definitif, Recensement Général de la Population et de l’Habitat, de l’Agriculture et de l’Elevage (RGPHAE).

Senegal’s First Utility-Scale Wind Farm Provides Big Lift for Local Communities

Investors looking to do well by doing good should take note of the Taiba N’Diaye Wind Farm in rural Senegal. This Power Africa-supported renewable energy project is helping Senegal meet its national electrification goals while directly improving the livelihoods of local residents and their communities.
 
Taiba N’Diaye is Senegal’s first utility-scale wind farm. Commissioned in December 2019, the initial phase of the project is already pumping 55 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy into the national grid, lighting up homes and businesses across the country. When fully completed by 2021, the wind farm will provide 158 MW of electricity to Senegal’s grid, or 15 percent of the country’s generation capacity. As an added bonus, the project developer, Lekela Power, plans to invest up to $20 million in community development efforts over the wind farm’s projected 20-year lifespan, which will be a big boost for those living near the project site.

READ MORE about Taiba N'Diaye on our blog


Catalyzing Professional Development for West African Women Energy Leaders

Power Africa, USAID, the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and the Centre Africain d’etudes Superieures en Gestion (African Center for Higher Studies in Management) delivered the first French-language iteration of the YALI-Power Africa Young Women in African Power Leadership Training in West Africa. Forty young female professionals from 17 Francophone countries across Africa participated in the training, held in Dakar, Senegal in February and March 2020.

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POWER AFRICA FINANCIALLY CLOSED TRANSACTIONS IN SENEGAL


Updated: October 21, 2019

Senergy 1 (Solar – 29MW)

Financial Close Date: 04/11/2016
Commercial Operations Date: 12/31/2017
Estimated Project Cost: $47.9M
Overview: Power Africa advanced the 29 MW Senergy I transaction to financial close in 2016 through a range of support to project stakeholders. This support included evaluation of the project financial model and the PPA to ensure bankability. Overseas Private Investment Corporation insurance was also provided on the project. Power Africa partner Proparco granted a loan to the project, and  Schneider Electric, also a Power Africa partner provided equipment. The President of Senegal, Macky Sall, inaugurated the Senergy solar power plant in Santhiou Mékhé in June 2017.


Senergy 2 (Solar – 20MW)

Financial Close Date: 05/22/2016
Commercial Operations Date: 10/22/2016
Estimated Project Cost: $28M
Overview: This project is a 20 MW PV generation plant in the north of Senegal and was the first grid connected solar IPP in West Africa. The project provides access to power for 160,000 people. The electricity produced by Senergy 2 is being sold to the Senegalese power utility Senelec through a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The project was jointly developed by Power Africa partner GreenWish and SENERGY 2, with support from the US Government. Alongside the equity investors, the project was financed through a loan provided by Green Africa Power, a multilateral investment vehicle dedicated to enabling private investment in clean power in Africa, jointly financed by the governments of the United Kingdom, Norway and the Netherlands, alongside other development finance institutions.


Taiba N’Diaye Wind Farm (Wind – 158.7MW)

Financial Close Date: 07/30/2018
Commercial Operations Date: 07/31/2020
Estimated Project Cost: $377M
Overview: Power Africa supported the Taiba N’diaye transaction, which is the first wind project in Senegal, for three years with assistance on financing, insurance, negotiation, and land rights issues to the developer. Taiba N’Diaye, will consist of 46 Vestas wind turbines, each able to produce 3.45 MW under a full Engineering Procurement and Construction contract.  Lekela Power and Actis (UK) and a consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power (Ireland), acquired co-development rights and sole invest rights in the project. Overseas Private Investment Corporation provided both financing and insurance to the project, as well as a grant through the US Africa Clean Energy Financing Facility. The World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency provided political risk insurance.


Ten Merina Ndakhar (Solar – 29.5MW)

Financial Close Date: 12/07/2016
Commercial Operations Date: 06/30/2017
Estimated Project Cost: $45.2M
Overview: The Ten Merina Ndakhar project constructed and operated a 29.5 MW PV solar farm in Merina Dakhar Commune located approximately 120 km northeast of Dakar. The project is a partnership between the two French companies Meridiam (85 percent), the financier, and Eiffage (15 percent), which carried out the construction and operation of the power plant. The company signed a 25-year Purchasing Power Agreement with SENELEC, and was supported by the BIO and Proparco. Construction was conducted by Solairedirect (subsidiary of ENGIE) and RMT. The project reached financial close in December 2016 and was commissioned in January 2018. OPIC committed $2.96 million in reinsurance to ito the project


Cap des Biches Expansion HFO (HFO – 33MW)

Financial Close Date: 01/25/2017
Commercial Operations Date: 03/30/2018
Estimated Project Cost: $85M
Overview: The Cap des Biches Expansion project added 33 MW of capacity to the existing 53 MW electric power plant in Senegal. The expansion consists of two combustion engines, one of which is equipped with a heat recovery system, and a short transmission line connecting the expansion units to an existing substation.  The power plant will use heavy fuel oil with the option to convert to natural gas. ContourGlobal is the project developer responsible for this expansion and OPIC committed $53 million in financing and $23 million of political risk insurance. The project reached financial close in January 2017.


Cap des Biches HFO (HFO – 53MW)

Financial Close Date: 12/17/2015
Commercial Operations Date: 06/13/2016
Estimated Project Cost: $134M
Overview: Cap des Biches is a combined cycle, heavy fuel, oil-fired thermal power plant capable of high efficiency rates with lower power generation costs. ContourGlobal, an international power generation company,  signed an agreement with the Senegalese national utility SENELEC, to rehabilitate the existing Cap des Biche brownfield site and construct a new 53 MW heavy fuel oil fired thermal facility under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement. The project reached financial close in December 2015 and was commissioned in June 2016. This project’s financing model brings together two leading development finance institutions: OPIC and IFC, with OPIC committing  financing up to $116 million and $25 million of political risk insurance for Phase I of this project, and IFC providing an 18-year cross currency swap of the same amount. The IFC provided political risk insurance while ContourGlobal provided $23.15 million in equity.