African renewables developer Lekela has been awarded a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) to fund a feasibility study in for Senegal’s first grid battery.
The battery will be located at Lekela’s 158.7MW Taiba N Diaye wind farm, which is the first utility-scale wind farm in Senegal and is due online by the end of this year.
The study, in partnership with Senelec, will focus on how to provide increased grid stability and integrate intermittent renewable energy into Senelec’s electricity grid.
The project is expected to be one of the first stand-alone battery storage projects built on an independent power producer basis in Senegal.
The study, which will take approximately 10 months, will provide the technical, economic, legal, and environmental analysis necessary to implement and operate the battery storage system.
If the system then goes ahead, it will help manage variable renewable energy generation in Senegal, paving the way for further wind and solar projects in the country.
Lekela chief executive Chris Antonopoulos said: “If successful, this project has the potential to catapult Senegal to the forefront of renewable energy usage in modern day grids.
“Wind power has been deployed for decades in some countries, yet only months after turning on Senegal’s first ever wind farm, we are now investigating how to integrate battery storage to the site.
“This is the logical next step to utilise wind and solar and bring clean, cheap power to Senegal’s citizens.
“We’re delighted that the USTDA has awarded a grant to Lekela to advance this project in partnership with Senelec, which will be one of the largest battery IPPs in Africa.”