Finnish company Wärtsilä will supply global power generation company Contour Global an extension to a 53MW Flexicycle power plant
The power plant is currently under construction near Dakar, Senegal. The extension will comprise two Wärtsilä 46 engines with a combined capacity of 34MW.
Wärtsilä’s Flexicycle solution couples ultra-flexible internal combustion engines with a combined cycle heat recovery system. Each engine has a dedicated waste heat steam generator and a common steam turbine as well as condenser. The system maximises fuel efficiency without compromising operational flexibility, and is particularly suitable for flexible baseload operation, said the company.
The project will be carried out in two phases and delivered on a turnkey basis. The first phase is scheduled to be operational in May 2016, while the second phase will come online by October 2016, stated Wärtsilä.
Under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) between Contour Global and Senegal’s national power utility Senelec, the new power plant will feed electricity to the West African nation’s power grid.
With the new project, Senegal’s power capacity could increase by 10 per cent. Considered a critical project to compensate for the growing demand for electricity in Senegal, the project will generate energy that’s affordable, stated ContourGlobal CEO for Africa & Solution Business Cheick-Oumar Sylla.
Financed by World Bank’s International Finance Corporation and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the Senegal project is linked to USA’s Power Africa initiative.
