Malicounda Power Plant

Malicounda, Senegal

Africa50-Project Finance

A 120 MW combined cycle thermal power plant at Malicounda

Malicounda is a 120 MW combined cycle thermal power plant under construction 85 kilometres from Dakar, designed to produce at least 956 GWh of power a year. It will initially run on fuel oil but is expected to be converted to natural gas when this becomes available from local fields.

The electricity generated will be sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement and fed into the network through an existing distribution substation.

17%

expected increase in generation capacity

3%

expected reduction in consumer tariffs

150

jobs expected to be created

Partners

Melec PowerGen (MPG) and Senelec

Development impact

The plant is expected to increase generating capacity in Senegal by about 17%, while reducing generation costs by about 14%.
If the savings are passed on to consumers this could result in a 3-7% fall in tariffs and a 1-3% rise in GDP.

Environment

The plant is expected to help satisfy baseloads, facilitating the integration of intermittent renewable power into the country’s network.
This type of combined-cycle power plant produces higher output at higher efficiencies (up to 55%) with lower emissions than the older open-cycle plants presently being used.
When converted to gas the plant is expected to form part of the evolution of Senegal’s energy mix from diesel (currently about 75% of total generation capacity) to renewables, reducing emissions.