African‑focused British energy company, Savannah Energy Plc, has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies of the Republic of Niger for the construction and operation of the country’s first wind farm at 250 megawatts (MW).
The wind project marks Savannah Energy’s entry into renewable energy. The proposed wind facility is set to be developed on an independent power producer (IPP) basis in the Tahoua Region, South of Niger.
Named Parc Eolien de la Tarka wind farm, the project will be owned by Savannah Parc Eolien de la Tarka (SPET), a special purpose vehicle, and will consist of 60 wind turbines in total.
“Parc Eolien de la Tarka is a prime example of our vision in action. The independent studies conducted to date indicate the Tahoua region of Niger to have a world class wind resource. The Project is expected to harness this resource and generate highly competitive, clean, indigenous power for Niger,” said Andrew Knott, CEO of Savannah Energy.
“Parc Eolien de la Tarka will see the country’s on-grid power generation capacity potentially increase by over 40%. Academic study after academic study has shown the relationship between power consumption, income levels and life expectancy to be well understood: the higher a country’s per capita power consumption, the higher both GDP per capita and human life expectancy are expected to be. Parc Eolien de la Tarka is therefore a critical project for the development of Niger, which we expect to make a significant contribution to improving the lives of its people,” added Knott.
The initial phase of the Project will see SPET carry out a 24-month feasibility study which will include an assessment to confirm the wind conditions and an assessment as to how the generated power would be incorporated into the national and regional electricity grids.
Savannah Energy to export power the West African Power Pool (WAPP)
The wind project is expected to take advantage of the development of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), a high voltage interconnection network allowing power exchanges between countries in the region and increased grid stability. Niger is scheduled to be connected to the WAPP in 2023 via a 330 kV line financed by the World Bank, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Union and the Agence Française de Développement (AfD).
Subject to the planned feasibility study confirming the ultimate scale of the Project, Parc Eolien de la Tarka is expected to produce up to 600 gigawatt hours per year of electricity. The construction phase of the Project is expected to create over 500 jobs, while the Project has the potential to reduce the cost of electricity for Nigeriens and avoid over an estimated 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.
Parc Eolien de la Tarka is also intended to be capable of exporting power to neighbouring countries at competitive tariffs and would significantly diversify Niger’s energy mix. The Project is expected to be sanctioned in 2023, with first power generation in 2025.
Commenting on the project announcement, the Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies, of the Republic of Niger, Sani Mahamadou, said: “This is a truly transformational project for Niger, potentially increasing the country’s on-grid power generation capacity significantly. Such a project is expected to stimulate a significant increase in economic activity across our country, directly and indirectly creating thousands of jobs over the course of the next decade.”
Savannah expects to fund the Project from a combination of its own internally generated cash flows and project specific debt.
