Savannah Energy (SAVE ) has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies of the Republic of Niger to construct the country’s first wind farm.
The project known as ‘Parc Eolien de la Tarka’ - Savanna’s inaugural renewable energy project - is expected to hold a proposed installed power generation capacity of up to 250 megawatts on an independent power producer basis in the Tahoua Region of Southern Niger.
Savannah said Parc Eolien de la Tarka represents the first of several large scale greenfield renewable energy projects that it expects to announce over the course of the next 12 months.
The project is expected to be owned by a subsidiary of the African-focused independent energy company Savannah Energy, Savannah Parc Eolien de la Tarka (“SPET”), and to consist of up to 60 wind turbines with a total power generation capacity of up to 250 MW.
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.
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 (“AdB”), 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.
Construction is expected to create over 500 jobs while the project could reduce electricity costs 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.
Savannah Energy, which expects to fund the project from a combination of its own internally generated cash flows and project specific debt, is focused on delivering ‘Projects that Matter’ in Africa and believes Parc Eolien de la Tarka is a prime example of its vision in action.
Commenting on the country’s power potential, Andrew Knott, CEO of Savannah Energy, told investors: “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. Parc Eolien de la Tarka will see the country’s on-grid power generation capacity potentially increase by over 40%.”
He said: “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.”
Commenting on the news, Sani Mahamadou, Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies, of the Republic of Niger, 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.”
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