British independent energy company Savannah Energy has signed a deal with Chad’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for the development of up to 500 MW in renewable energy projects set to supply electricity to select areas.
These include the country’s capital city of N’Djamena, both the towns of Moundou and Doba in southern Chad, and to the Doba Oil Project.
The first of two renewable energy projects will see Savannah Energy develop a 300 MW solar photovoltaic farm and battery energy storage system in Komé in southern Chad, to provide clean and reliable power generation for the Doba Oil Project and the nearby towns of Moundou and Doba.
Dubbed the Centrale Solaire de Komé Project, it will displace the existing hydrocarbon power supply and provide reliable electricity on a 24/7 basis, thus resulting in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.
Expected to be sanctioned by 2023 and with first power by 2025, the Centrale Solaire de Komé Project will become the largest solar project in sub-Saharan Africa – with the exception of work being done in South Africa – and will constitute the largest battery storage project on the African continent.
Savannah’s second project, as per the agreement, is the Centrales d’Energie Renouvelable de N’Djamena Project which will see the development of solar and wind projects of up to 100 MW each to generate electricity for the capital city of N’Djamena. The project is expected to more than double the current installed generation capacity for the city and raise the overall installed grid-connected power generation capacity by approximately 63%. The project is expected to be approved by 2023/24, with first power expected for 2025/26.
“Our country is blessed with a significant renewable energy resource and we are excited that Savannah is seeking to harness this resource to provide utility-scale power to our country,” stated Chad’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy, H.E. Djerassem le Bemadjiel, at a signing ceremony on May 30th in N’Djamena, adding, “We are already engaged to provide all the support needed for implementing these projects and having the first power delivered to our population and our industries in line with the State plan for enhancing the power offering in our country.”
Savannah Energy has stated that the firm expects the cost of power from the Centrales d’Energie Renouvelable de N’Djamena Project to be significantly lower than existing power projects, which are primarily powered by hydrocarbons.
“I am delighted to announce the Centrale Solaire de Komé and the Centrales d’Energie Renouvelable de N’Djamena Projects. Both of these represent a major vote of confidence in Chad by Savannah and have the potential to contribute to a transformative change in the country’s GDP over the course of the coming years, as well as bringing the significant quality of life benefits associated with access to regularized power to the regions in which the projects are situated,” stated Andrew Knott, CEO of Savannah Energy.
Serving as the second and third large-scale greenfield renewable energy projects announced by the British company this year – the first being in Niger with the development of the 250 MW Parc Eolien de la Tarka Project. The projects in Chad are expected to be financed through a combination of Savannah Energy’s internally generated cashflows and project-specific debt.
