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Wärtsilä will convert the 90 MW Bel-Air power plant in Dakar, Senegal, to operate on LNG.
- The conversion will improve the plant’s environmental profile and lower operating costs.
- The conversion process will see the plant’s existing six Wärtsilä 46 engines will be converted to six Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines.
Wärtsilä has received an order to convert the 90 MW Bel-Air power plant in Dakar, Senegal, to operate on LNG. The gas power plant, which the state utility company, Senelec, owns, currently utilise heavy fuel oil. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in Q1 2021 and is Senegal’s first power plant conversion.
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According to Papa Mademba Biteye, Managing Director of Senelec, the project’s two main aims were to improve the plant’s environmental profile and lower the operating costs. He also stated that the conversion would prepare the plant for the country’s future gas supply infrastructure.
Wärtsilä’s Energy Business Director, Africa West, Marc Thiriet, noted that “gas conversion is far more cost-effective than building a new plant. It also facilitates the greater use of energy from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, since the converted plant will be able to provide highly flexible, fast-starting baseload power for balancing the grid.”
The conversion process will see the plant’s existing six Wärtsilä 46 engines will be converted to six Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines. Wärtsilä’s will also renegotiate its current operation and maintenance agreement covering the existing engines. The dual-fuel engine technology allows the use of multiple fuels, allowing power plants to operate with gas and utilising liquid fuels as a backup.
Wärtsilä is one of the largest energy infrastructure developers in West Africa, with a total installed capacity of about 4792 MW.