Technology group Wärtsilä has signed a contract to engineer, manufacture and deliver a 130 MW Flexicycle plant in Senegal, which will be an integral part of the country’s energy future.

The Malicounda power plant project will be located in Mbour, 85 km from Senegal’s capital city Dakar, and will become operational in 2020.

The order for the plant was placed by Matelec, a contractor for independent power producer Melec Power Gen.

The project is part of Senegal’s strategy to increase its energy production, while in the medium term reducing the cost of electricity for consumers.

The Wärtsilä thermal plant solution will provide the flexibility needed to facilitate the integration of intermittent renewable energy into Senegal’s network.

Wärtsilä Flexicycle power plants combine the advantages of a flexible simple cycle plant with the efficiency of a combined cycle plant. The Flexicycle solution is based on a gas, multifuel or liquid fuel power plant combined with a steam turbine.

Flexicycle power plants can operate both in highly efficient combined cycle mode and in dynamic and fast simple cycle mode.

The plant will operate on seven Wärtsilä 50 engines, which will operate initially on heavy fuel oil. However, there is an option to convert to gas-fuelled operation as soon as gas becomes available.

Senegal and Mauritania have signed an intergovernmental cooperation agreement to develop substantial gas resources to be shared by the two countries.

“This is a major energy project that is important for Senegal. We needed a reliable and qualified partner to engineer and provide the flexible and reliable energy system, now and as our energy infrastructure evolves. With its global and Pan-African experience, Wärtsilä fully meets the project requirements,” commented Matelec CEO Sami Soughayar.

Wärtsilä Energy Solutions West Africa regional director Arnaud Gouet said Wärtsilä has a well-established footprint in Senegal and throughout West Africa, and its global references provide ample proof of its capability in delivering efficient, reliable and flexible solutions.

Wärtsilä already has 450 MW of installed power capacity in Senegal and is the country’s leading provider of power generation equipment.