Aggreko won the bid to supply Benin with 100MW of power for one year to help its rapidly growing industrial sector
The one year contract will support the country’s national grid with energy generated from ADDGAS – an add-on technology, which substitutes a significant portion of diesel fuel with natural gas.
With an annual GDP growth of nearly six per cent and a rapidly expanding industrial sector, power demands across Benin are increasing exponentially.
In its role as the national power utility and system operator in Benin, Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE) is working to bring high quality electricity to the country’s 10mn inhabitants by increasing generation capacity and further developing transmission and distribution networks.
In response to the public tender process, Aggreko’s bid was the only one to include an ADDGAS option. By maximising available fuel types, SBEE will be able to make significant savings over the duration of the contract as a result of the flexible ADDGAS solution.
Aggreko is also installing specialist high voltage equipment as part of its turn-key offering. The company has a strong and established relationship with SBEE having previously supported the national grid at various intervals over the last 12 years, providing an interim solution to Benin helping to maintain economic growth in the country.
“We signed with Aggreko because Benin can count on its ability to mobilise within the contractual deadlines and on its experience as an operator” said, Laurent Tossou, managing director of SBEE.
“Aggreko’s proposition considers Benin’s availability of gas, while also allowing production units to operate with diesel only. The additional production capacities will enable the Beninese government to fulfil a daily structural deficit ranging between 40 and 60 MW per day for more than a year.”
Managing director of Aggreko Africa, James Shepherd, said, “We are delighted to be working once again alongside SBEE to bring reliable power to the people of Benin. By delivering this fast-track power, we are helping to provide a more consistent and reliable energy supply to the people of Benin, while helping to support the economic growth in the country.”
The 100MW is expected to be mobilised by the end of the year. With around 2.3GW currently installed across 34 African countries, Aggreko is the largest supplier of modular, mobile power to the African continent. This new project will bring the company’s total generating capacity to 2.4GW across Africa.
It will create more local jobs with the recruitment and training of a local workforce specialised in the power industry, a critical sector for the future development of the continent.
