The plant dispatches power to the national electricity distributor Senelec, and reliability of supply is essential. The Wärtsilä agreement is designed to ensure that the customer’s commercial and contractual terms and conditions are met. The order was booked by Wärtsilä in March 2023.
They presented the results of their latest study which investigates Senegal’s optimal power system expansion. The study revealed that speeding up the deployment of renewable energy beyond what is currently planned will lead to a staggering $700 Millions of savings until 2035, primarily
The ability of engine power plants to run on green hydrogen fuel rather than gas or heavy fuel oil will be a key enabler of Africa’s renewable energy ambitions.
This new power generation paradigm is, in many ways, a perfect fit for Africa. The continent enjoys some of the highest wind and solar energy resources on the planet, which means that the renewable energy plants built here boast some of the best productivity rates in the world.
The Malicounda power plant comprises seven 18V50 engines and a steam turbine, combining the advantages of a simple-cycle operation with the high efficiency of a combined cycle plant.
To meet the projected 1.3 GW of electricity peak demand increase by 2032, Mozambique must build significant new power capacity.
However, delivering on this ambitious plan will require enormous investments, estimated at $18.7 Billion until 2030 and $425 Billion until 2060.
Pathways for Africa’s Energy Future,’ a report from the technology group Wärtsilä, provides power system modelling of three African countries, Nigeria, South Africa and Mozambique. It finds that they can leapfrog some developed nations by not embedding inflexible fossil fuel-based systems.
The order with Wärtsilä was placed by Sabodala Gold Operations and it has been booked in Wärtsilä’s order intake in Q3 2022. The project will be delivered under a complete engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.
These studies have revealed very significant system cost differences between the two main gas-to-power technologies the country is currently considering.
