Kékéli thermal power plant which is currently under construction in Lomé, Togo successfully received the SGT-800 gas turbine supplied by Siemens Energy, a division of Siemens AG which is a German multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Munich and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe.
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The turbine was built by Siemens Energy in Finspång, Sweden, and shipped to Togo by sea, to form the core of the 65MW combined cycle power plant which is expected to cover almost 40% of the West African country’s electricity demand, at the same time as creating job opportunities for Togolese citizens.
The turbine delivery follows a competitive bidding process which led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding, in October last year but one, between the government of the Republic of Togo, Siemens Energy, Pan-African industrial group Eranove, and EPC partner TSK Group, for the development of what would be the country’s first gas-fired combined cycle power plant.
The project also represents the first Independent Power Producer (IPP) project entirely financed by African financial institutions.
Step towards environmentally sustainable energy mix
The Kékéli thermal power plant is considered as a big step for Togo towards an environmentally sustainable energy mix. Upon completion, the project will help reduce the country’s reliance on less efficient heavy fuel oil (HFO) reciprocating engine power plants in the local energy mix and reduce CO2 emissions.
For each unit of electrical energy produced, natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants produce over 20% less CO2 than the HFO power plants previously dominating the West African country energy mix. Even when operating on natural gas, reciprocating engines emit high quantities of unburnt hydrocarbons such as methane, which are extremely powerful greenhouse gases. These emissions are negligible for gas turbines.
