Senegal inaugurated the first large-scale wind farm in West Africa on Monday, a wind power facility that will supply nearly a sixth of the country’s power when it reaches full capacity later this year. With the wind farm, Senegal will get 30% of its energy from renewable sources, which has been a goal of President Macky Sall.
“The
energy mix we have today allows us to move past our dependence on
petrol,” said Papa Mademba Biteye, director-general of Senelec, the
national electricity company, at an inauguration ceremony in the rural
community of Taiba N’Diaye.
The 158 megawatt wind farm was built
by British renewable power company Lekela, which also has wind farms in
South Africa and Egypt and an upcoming one in Ghana.
Wind farms
remain scarce throughout sub-Saharan Africa compared with solar plants,
partly because they can cost more and take longer to build and because
strong wind is generally less plentiful than sunshine, said Silvia
Macri, an energy analyst at IHS Markit.
“Senegal pushed ahead its renewables agenda quite aggressively,” Macri told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Senegal’s
first solar plant came online three years ago, and the country has
since built several more. Other countries in the region are following
suit with solar but are much further behind in terms of wind, Macri
said.
In Taiba N’Diaye, 46 giant wind turbines rise over
scrubland about 90 km (56 miles) from the seaside capital. One-third are
operating, and the rest are due to come online by June.
Outside
the cities, much of Senegal is still not electrified. Electricity
reached only about 60% of the 16 million population in 2017, according
to the World Bank.
The wind farm will provide enough electricity
for 2 million people and prevent the emission of 300,000 tonnes of
carbon dioxide annually, according to Senelec.
