The 151.8 MW project will help Senegal to reduce its reliance on high-cost oil-fired power generation. It will be located in Taiba Ndiaye in Senegal, approximately 75 km northwest of Dakar and will help the Senegalese government to diversify the country’s energy mix and improve energy security. Power from the project will be sold to Senegal’s national utility company, Senelec (Societe Nationale d'Electricite du Senegal) under a 20-year power purchase agreement signed in December 2013.
The total capital cost of the project is expected to be around 305 million euros with ACEI providing an estimated 76 million euros of equity with the remainder coming from senior and mezzanine lenders. The developer is Sarreole S.a.r.l. ("Sarreole") based in France. Construction of the plant will take place over three years, adding 50.8 MW in three phases of development. Chapin International & Co is acting as the project development and financial advisor for the project.
“This project makes a lot of sense for Senegal - both from an economic as well as an environmental standpoint” said Paul Hanrahan, CEO and co-founder of ACEI. “Senegal's impressive economic growth requires more electric generating capacity to be built as its electrification rate is well above average for the Sub-Saharan region. In addition, the Senegalese Government has stated that it is committed to shifting from diesel-based power generation to lower-cost energy sources, such as wind power, to lower the cost of electricity, and has taken steps to further reform its electricity sector in a way that makes it an attractive place to invest. And because this is a priority project under President Macky Sall's Plan Emergent Senegal, dedicated to accelerating the country's economic growth, we are confident that the project will move ahead quickly.”
Ms. Lisa Pinsley, ACEI Director of Africa investments, added that the company is a founding partner of Power Africa, a United States Government initiative launched by President Obama that is focused on supporting economic growth and development in Africa by increasing clean and reliable access to electrical power. Through this initiative, ACEI will partner with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation as lead lender and will leverage the diverse toolkit of the Power Africa initiative to support the Project, the utility and the Senegalese economy.
American Capital Energy & Infrastructure specialises in the management of investments in global energy infrastructure assets, including power generation facilities, power distribution and transmission networks as well as product and service companies focused on the power and energy sectors. The company recently closed financing of a 36MW wind farm in Jamaica, which began construction earlier this year. It will also add low-cost wind-powered electricity to help diversify away from high-cost diesel generation.
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