The 158MW Taiba N’Diaye wind farm, under construction in the Thies region, approximately 70km north-east of Dakar, is the first utility-scale wind power project in Senegal, Western Africa.
The onshore wind power project is being developed by Lekela, a company focused on renewable energy development in Africa.
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Lekela reached financial closure for the project in July 2018. Construction works were started in December 2018, while the first turbine was erected in July 2019.
The 50MW first phase of the wind farm comprising 16 of the total 46 turbines became operational in December 2019.
Scheduled for full-scale comissioning by the end of 2020, the Taiba N’Diaye wind farm is expected to generate 400GWh of clean electricity a year and offset 300,000t of annual carbon emissions.
The Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye wind farm is expected to increase Senegal’s total electricity output by 15%.
Taiba N’Diaye wind farm make-up
The total footprint of the Taiba N’Diaye project is 67ha. The onshore wind farm will be equipped with 46 Vestas V126 turbines of 3.45MW rated capacity each.
The turbines are being installed in five rows spreading over seven hectares. With 126m-diameter rotor and 61.7m-long blades, each three-bladed direct-drive turbine has a swept area of 12,469m².
Each turbine is mounted on a tubular steel tower measuring 117m-high and weighing 313t.
The construction is being taken up in three phases, with the first two phases involving the installation of 16 turbines each and the remaining 14 turbines to be installed in the third phase.
Electricity transmission
The electricity generated by each turbine will be transmitted through 33kV underground cables to the existing Tobene substation located 700m away from the closest turbine of the wind farm. It will be stepped-up to 225kV at the substation.
The project doesn’t require any transmission line as the Tobene substation will act as the project substation as well as the grid connection point.
Power purchase agreement
Senegal National Electricity Company (SENELEC) signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the Taiba N’Diaye wind power project in 2013.
Under the agreement, the state-owned utility will purchase the entire power generated by the wind farm for 20 years.
Taiba N’Diaye wind farm financing
The US Government’s development finance institution Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) committed $250m in financing and $70m in reinsurance for the wind power project in September 2016.
The Danish Export Credit Agency EKF also guaranteed a €140m ($161m) export loan facility for the project in August 2018.
The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) provided political risk insurance for the project.
The United States Agency for International Development Power Africa, an initiative by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), also provided support for the project during its early development phase.
Contractors involved with the Taiba N’Diaye wind project
Vestas was awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for 46 turbines of the wind power project in September 2018.
The scope of the contract includes supply, transportation and installation, as well as operations and maintenance of the wind turbines for 20 years.
Ramboll was engaged for the preparation of environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) of the Taiba N’Diaye wind power project.
