NIGER – Savannah Energy, an African‑focused British independent energy company has signed an agreement with the government of the Republic of Niger to construct a 250MW wind farm.
The proposed wind farm project, Parc Eolien de la Tarka, consisting of up to 60 wind turbines is expected to be owned by a subsidiary of Savannah, Savannah Parc Eolien de la Tarka (SPET).
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 of how the generated power will be incorporated into the national and regional electricity grids.
The 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).
“This is a truly transformational project for Niger, potentially increasing the country’s on-grid power generation capacity significantly,” said Sani Mahamadou, Minister of Petroleum, Energy, and Renewable Energies, of Niger.
“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.”
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 neighboring countries at competitive tariffs and would significantly diversify Niger’s energy mix.
The Project is expected to be sanctioned in 2023, with the first power generation in 2025. Savannah expects to fund the Project from a combination of its own internally generated cash flows and project-specific debt.
Parc Eolien de la Tarka will see the country’s on-grid power generation capacity potentially increase by over 40%.
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