Lekela contracts DNV to study feasibility of 40 MW Senegal Battery Storage for Grid Resiliency Project

DNV has been selected as contractor to perform a feasibility study for the Senegal Battery Storage for Grid Resiliency Project, a project funded through a grant provided by the US Trade and Development Association (USTDA). 

At an anticipated size of 40 MW, which will provide 175 MWh of energy, the battery energy storage system (BESS) will be one of the largest of its kind in the West African region. The battery will be co-located at Lekela's Parc Eolien Taiba N'Diaye (PETN) project, which was also developed by Lekela with DNV’s support. The wind farm has a total capacity of 158.7 MW and is located approximately 70 km northeast of Dakar. It will come fully online in 2021. When fully charged, the BESS will be able to discharge its fully rated 40 MW capacity for more than four hours. The battery will consist of approximately 45 40-foot (21 m) shipping containers and will be located adjacent to the wind farm. SENELEC, the national utility of Senegal, will dispatch the BESS once it comes online.

As part of this contract, DNV will assist Lekela in developing the technical specifications for the BESS to ensure a successful technical solution that will provide services on the grid for its useful life, which may exceed 20 years. Additionally, DNV will be involved in Lekela’s negotiation of the offtake agreement with SENELEC, which is the first such contract of its type for energy storage in Senegal. The project anticipates that the construction of the BESS will begin in 2022.