- The 130 MW Wärtsilä Flexicycle™ power plant is now fully operational in Malicounda. President Sall officially inaugurated the plant on the 11th of February.
- Matelec, the plant EPC contractor, selected Wärtsilä to deliver its energy efficient 130 MW Flexicycle™ power generation technology.
The 130 MW Wärtsilä Flexicycle™ power plant is now fully operational in Malicounda. President Sall officially inaugurated the plant on the 11th of February. Matelec, one of the leading energy companies in Africa, operates the plant, and a 10-year maintenance agreement with Wärtsilä will guarantee its high availability and reliability. Located in Mbour, 85 km south of Senegal’s capital Dakar, the plant is anticipated to deliver 956 GWh of power per year, representing a 17% increase in the country’s power generation capacity.
Matelec, the plant EPC contractor, selected Wärtsilä to deliver its energy efficient 130 MW Flexicycle™ power generation technology. The Malicounda power plant comprises seven 18V50 engines and a steam turbine, combining the advantages of a simple-cycle operation with the high efficiency of a combined cycle plant. Its fast load-following power capability means the plant is ideally suited to maintain system reliability and offer the flexibility needed as intermittent renewable energy is progressively added to Senegal’s power grid.
The plant will initially operate on heavy fuel oil. However, it is possible to convert the plant to run on locally supplied gas from the GTA field once it becomes available, further lowering the energy cost. The Malicounda power plant is a central part of the government’s Plan Sénégal Emergent (PSE) to strengthen the country’s emerging economy and provide electricity access to everyone by 2025. It was one of the first public-private partnership (PPP) projects in West Africa. It involved the Africa Development Bank, Africa50, the Infrastructure Development Fund for Africa, and Senelec, Senegal’s state power utility, setting a cooperation model to meet the continent’s growing energy needs.
The Director of Africa at Wärtsilä Energy, Marc Thiriet, said, “We are grateful to our partners for having entrusted us to deliver our cutting-edge Flexicycle technology for this significant project. We have a well-established footprint in Senegal, and it is extremely satisfying to see yet another emblematic power plant equipped with our technology now in full operation.”