Lekela plans battery storage at wind farm in Senegal

The owner of West Africa’s first utility-scale wind farm plans to add battery storage to the project. 

Lekela has appointed consultancy DNV to assess the feasibility of installing a battery energy storage system (BESS) at the 158.7MW Taiba N’Diaye Taiba N’Diaye (158.7MW) OnshoreThiès Region, Senegal, Middle East & Africa Click to see full details wind farm in Senegal, which came online last year.

The study will focus on how the BESS can increase grid stability and help integrate renewable energy into the local electricity grid. 

The proposed 40MW battery would be housed in shipping containers located next to the wind farm and would provide 175MWh of energy – making it one of the largest of its kind in Africa. The battery will have a discharge duration of more than four hours.

Senegal’s national utility Senelec would dispatch electricity from the BESS. It will help to stabilise the grid and provide additional services such as frequency regulation and reactive power support.

Senegal is heading towards an energy mix where renewables represent 25% of total electricity generation capacity.

DNV has been contracted to develop the technical specifications for the BESS to ensure it can provide services to the grid for its estimated 20-year lifespan. DNV will also be involved in Lekela’s negotiation of the offtake agreement with Senelec. 

Construction of the BESS is scheduled to begin in 2022. It is being funded through a grant provided by the US Trade and Development Association (USTDA).

Lekela’s portfolio includes more than 1.3GW of renewable energy capacity in Egypt, Ghana, Senegal and South Africa. The company is 60% owned by investor Actis and 40% by a consortium led by Mainstream Renewable Power.