Leona Wind is a 50 MW wind energy project located in Senegal along the coastline, 200 km north of Dakar and 26km south of Saint Louis.

The Leona Wind Power Project will add much needed electricity generation to the national grid of Senelec, moreover reducing Senegal’s vulnerability to the volatility of fuel costs and shortages.

The Senegalese grid is suffering from substantial generation deficits due to a combination of accelerating growth in demand and long term under investment in new generation assets. Compounding the problems in the sector is the almost complete dependence on costly oil based thermal generation assets. In response to these issues, the government has commenced the implementation of a plan including the addition of coal fired base load generation combined with tapping into the countries considerable potential for renewable energy.

The Senegal power sector has a high marginal cost of generation (diesel powered medium size engines and diesel fired simple cycle gas turbines) and a substantial pent up demand for additional power.

A Law on Renewable Energies was ratified by the Parliament in December 2010 and application decrees signed in December 2011. In line with this strategy, InfraCo Africa submitted a project proposal to the Government of Senegal, approved by the “Comité d’Agrement” for IPPs on renewable energy and was invited to negotiate a PPA with SENELEC.

‘Leona Wind’ is being developed with the objective of replicating as much as possible the project structure and documentation from the recently completed Cabeolica project in Cape Verde. A project site was secured in early 2010 and a wind measurement tower installed that same year. The most current assessment shows an average wind speed between 6.5 and 7.5 meter per second at hub height.

Students using street lights in Dakar to study, September 2012.

Primary Economic Benefits

Increased electricity supply and improved reliability of supply. Senegal’s GDP growth was hindered in 2007 by frequent electricity outages, which caused a slowdown of the economic and manufacturing activities.
In 2010, unmet electricity demand increased by 109% compared to the situation in 2009 (increasing from 73 GWh in 2009 to 153 GWh in 2010) due to the lack of fuel supply.
According to local reports, the outages have contributed to the closure of many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Primary Social Benefits

The project, when completed, will increase energy supply by around 130 GWh annually, enough to provide electricity to an additional 250,000 people at current usage rates.

Project Structure

The Leona Wind Power Project is being developed as a privately owned independent power producer (“IPP”).

Project Relevance

It is estimated that an improved electricity supply in the country could contribute to up to 3 % to economic growth.
Leona wind is a pioneering project in the country; it provides capacity building to the various government authorities and other local partners involved in the project as well as a benchmark for future wind power projects in the country.

Leona Wind

Senegal

Sponsoring government ministries

Ministry of Energy and Mining

Approximate scope of project

Project size: 50 MW
Cost: £58 million
Time: Closing 2015

Partners

Senelec
Africa Finance Corporation

Welcoming ceremony in the Rural Community of Leona, November 2009.

The Rural Community of Leona has been and remains strongly supportive of the project. A strict ESIA study, conducted in compliance with European and World Bank guidelines, indicated that the social and environmental impacts of the project will be minimal ; there will be no need for relocation.