Renewable power generation company, Lekela, has announced that the first turbine has been delivered for the construction of Senegal’s 158,7MW Parc Eolien Taiba N’Diaye (PETN) wind farm project.
Lekela manages the project, which will be comprised of 46 turbines that will be delivered to Port Autonome of Dakar by road.
“This is an incredibly exciting moment for Lekela, and for PETN. From a project that was just an idea a few years ago, we now see it quickly becoming a reality. It won’t be long until PETN will be providing power for over 2 million people in Senegal,” Lekela’s Managing Director, Massaer Cissé stated.
Presenting strong local employment opportunities in the Taiba N’Diaye communal area, the landmark project has set a goal to develop a 20-year socio-economic plan for a $20 million investment. Funds will go towards improving local agricultural opportunities, provide training programs and refurbish local infrastructure.
The delivery was met with a ceremony at the Port of Dakar which brought together Mouhamadou Makhtar Cissé, Minister of Oil and Energy, Tulinabo S. Mushingi and George Hodgson, Ambassadors of the United States and the United Kingdom respectively, Pape Mademba Bitèye, CEO of Senelec, the national public energy supplier, Aboubacar Sadikh Beye, CEO of the Autonomous Port of Dakar, a delegation of the World Bank, and by Massaer Cissé, General Manager of Lekela Senegal.
“This plant is the result of a fruitful partnership between Senelec and Lekela”, said Pape Mademba Bitèye, adding that “we are delighted by this form of multipartite collaboration between Senelec, the developers and the local community and look forward to the commissioning of the first phase towards the end of 2019.”
