Power is flowing from West Africa’s first large-scale wind farm in a new milestone for the sector’s growth on the continent, said the project’s developer.
The first turbines from the 159MW Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye were connected to Senegal’s national grid on Thursday, said a statement from Lekela.
The developer, part-owned by global clean energy group Mainstream Renewable Power, has spent 10 months building the wind farm using 46, 3.45MW Vestas turbines, all of which are due to be in place by the year’s end.
Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye will deliver 450GWh annually to the Senegalese grid, boosting its capacity by 15%.
The Senegal project marks another step forward for wind power in Africa, where large-scale development has so far mostly been confined to big North African markets such as Morocco, and at the other end of the continent in South Africa.
In East Africa the standout development so far has been the 310MW Lake Turkana project.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently named Senegal among a clutch of African nations suitable for significant wind development.
