The first phase of the Taïbe Ndiaye wind power plant in Senegal has begun supplying 50MW of energy to the national grid. When completed mid next year the wind farm will be supplying 158MW effectively raising the countries energy supply by 15% while offsetting 300,000 tons of carbon emissions annually. The Taïbe Ndiaye wind power plant is arguably the firt utility scale wind farm in West Africa.
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The 340 million Euro Taïbe Ndiaye wind power plant is part of President Macky Sall’s “Rising Senegal” Plan and is being developed by Lekela Power a renewable energy development company with projects in Egypt, South Africa, Senegal and Ghana.
The Taïba Ndiaye wind power project is located 100 kilometers north of Dakar and when complete will consist of 46 wind turbines each producing 3.45MW of electricity. The turbines are being supplied by Vestas and will be perched 117m above the ground on steel towers with a blade length of 61.7m. The 46 turbines will cover an 67ha constructed in five rows rotors that will stretch the blades over a 126 metre rotor diameter.
Several funding agencies have come together to ensure that the wind power plant sees the light of day. These include the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), The Danish Export Credit Agency (MIGA) and the United States Agency for International Development Power Africa.
Power from the Taïbe Ndiaye wind power plant will be transmitted ot the existing Tobene substation where it will be stepped up to 225Kv to supply power to over 150,000 households.
Vestas who were awarded the contract to supply the 46 turbines will also transport and install them along with carrying out operations and maintenance for the next 20 years. Vestas is a global energy supply leader providing wind turbines in over 80 countries around the world and with an installed base of 108GW.
