Lekela Power B.V., the owner of West Africa’s first utility-scale wind farm, namely Taiba N’Diaye wind farm in Senegal, plans to add a 40MW battery energy storage system (BESS) to the project.
The company has hitherto appointed DNV as a contractor to carry out a feasibility study for the latter project. The study will focus on how the BESS can provide increased grid stability and integrate intermittent renewable energy into Senelec’s electricity grid.
It is being funded through a grant of close to US$ 1bn that was paid to Lekela Energie Stockage, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) subsidiary set up and owned by Lekela Power some time last year by the US Trade and Development Association (USTDA).
Additional responsibilities of DNV
Other than carrying out the feasibility studies for the project, DNV will assist Lekela in developing the technical specifications for the BESS to ensure a successful technical solution that will provide services on the grid for its operational life, which may be up to 240 months.
It will also be involved in Lekela’s negotiation of the off-take agreement with Senelec, which is the first contract of its kind for energy storage in the West African country.
The actual construction of the BESS is expected to start next year.
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About the BESS
The proposed battery energy storage system will be housed in approximately 45 21-meter shipping containers located next to the 158.7MW wind farm.
It will provide 175MWh of energy – making it one of the largest of its kind on the continent. It will also help to stabilize the production of renewable energy as well as provide additional services, such as frequency regulation and reactive power support.
Senegal’s national utility Senelec will dispatch electricity from the BESS once it is operational.
