Africa has had a long-standing history of electricity reliability problems, but that may soon be water under the bridge thanks to renewable power. Enter an era of wind farms in Africa, several new large-scale renewable energy projects are in the works in countries across the continent.
One such country is Senegal, which is constructing West Africa’s largest wind farm, the Taliba N’Diaye. When complete, it will supply 158MW of electricity to two million people.
The wind farm is part of President Macky Sall’s “Emerging Senegal” plan, intended to speed up Senegal’s development by making electricity more reliable. Construction, being carried out by renewable energy development company Lekela Power, will commence mid-2020. Once it’s in full power, it will generate enough clean energy to increase the country’s electricity supply by 15% and save 300,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually.
There are 46 wind turbines in all, and almost every single one of them is complete. Some of them have even already begun generating power. Taliba N’Diaye is currently supplying 50MW to the national grid, providing power to the capital city of Dakar.
Massaer Cisse, General Manager for Senegal at Lekela Power, said:
The first megawatts of energy are today entering Senegal’s grid, giving the country its first taste of clean, renewable wind power. This is an exciting time and it brings us a step closer to our ultimate goal of providing power for millions of Senegalese.
Providing power is just the start. With every project we build, we go beyond energy, investing in our local communities to build a lasting, positive impact. We’re here for 20 years and we want to help the Taiba community grow. We’ve already constructed two new marketplaces and recently we ran a four-month electrical training course for twelve young adults in the community.
Funding for this 340-million-euro project is provided by the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the United States Agency for International Development Power Africa and The Danish Export Credit Agency.
Lekela Power is also working on the construction of another wind farm in Egypt, near the Gulf of Suez Canal. The company recently secured financial investments worth $325 million to make it happen. It’s called West Bakr Wind, and when complete, it will supply 250MW of clean power to the Egyptian grid and save over 550,000 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere annually. West Bakr Wind is expected to be fully operational by 2021.
Africa has abundant resources for renewable energy harvesting. Not only through wind farms in Africa but with solar as well, since the continent has year-round sunlight. However, the massive potential here is not being seized, and over 500 million Africans still lack access to any electricity at all. Entrepreneurs should take this golden opportunity to invest in renewable energy in Africa. Help the continent develop in a sustainable way, one that’s good for the environment and improves the lives of the people.
