Senegal is constructing a new coal-fired power plant. The new facility is meant to reduce the cost of electricity in the country – and the number of black-outs.
Just 30 kilometres from Dakar is the new coal-fired Bargny plant. With a capacity of 115 megawatts, it’s expected to ease pressure on the national grid.
Eric Lhomme, Deputy General Manager of the Senegal National Electricity Co.: “The price of electricity in Senegal is very high as it’s made from heavy fuel and depends mainly on the price of that fuel. This plant will burn coal – a cheaper and less polluting fuel.”
The power plant is expected to supply electricity to the national grid at a cost of 10 cents per kilowatt-hour, about half the current amount.
“This plant will be one of the cheapest in terms of the cost of electricity generation,” Pape Toby Guaye, head of the Coal and Gas Department for Senelec, told CGTN Africa.
“The entire population will benefit from lower electricity tariffs. The Senegalese National Electricity Company no longer has a production deficit, but rather a production margin, which allows us to meet demand.”
Bargny also has social responsibility programmes running in the area.
“We’re constructing several schools, modernising a fish processing factory and providing financial support to local businesses,” said Badara Gueye, Social Responsibility Officer at Senelec.
Come October when it’s up and running, the plant is expected to create more than 2,000 permanent jobs.
