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Tuesday, December 1, 2015
OPIC, the US government’s development finance institution, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, signed financing agreements for the 53-MW Cap des Biches power plant with project developer ContourGlobal, the government of Senegal, and Senegal’s national electricity utility to help address growing demand for electricity in the country.
Under an innovative financing model, IFC is providing a cross currency swap while OPIC will lend up to $91 million to the project. Cap des Biches is a modern, heavy fuel, oil fired thermal power plant that guarantees high efficiency levels and lower cost of power thanks to its combined cycle technology.
The project is being designed, built and operated by ContourGlobal, a US-based leading power projects developer.
It is estimated that Senegal must generate an additional 130 MW to meet its current needs. Once operational, the Cap des Biches project will play a significant role in helping to meet the 5-8% annual growth in demand for electricity. SENELEC, Senegal’s national electricity utility, will be the off-taker for the power generated by the project.
The Cap des Biches project is OPIC’s first financing of a utility-scale power project in Senegal, and helps fulfill its key role to carry out President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, which aims to add 60 million new electricity connections and 30,000 new megawatts in Sub-Saharan Africa. Earlier this year, OPIC surpassed its initial $1.5 billion pledge to private sector-led power projects under Power Africa, a total that included Cap des Biches. OPIC and ContourGlobal have previously partnered for important African power developments in Togo and Nigeria.
Construction of the project has already started and is expected to be completed in May 2016.
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