The photo is sourced from en.sasac.gov.cn
The new power plant located in the Senegal Basin downstream of the Gouina Falls, is a run-of-river hydropower plant that does not hinder the natural flow of the river and does not need an artificial storage reservoir. The project provides for a 1,230 m long dam that will receive flow from Africa’s largest dam, Manantali, which is located upstream the Senegal River. The dam will direct water into a canal that will operate three hydroelectric units with a capacity of 46.6 MW each. The new HPP is already connected to the power grid of the OMVS member countries through a transmission line with a total length of 280 km.
The project is going to alleviate energy shortages, which remain a chronic issue in almost all West African countries. According to the World Bank, in 2020 only 51% of Mali residents had access to electricity. In Guinea and Mauritania, this share was 45% and 47%, respectively. Against this background, Senegal looked a little better with its 70%. This being said, these countries are characterised by high birth rates. While the world average fertility index was 2.4 in 2020 (24 newborns for every 10 women), in Mali it reached 5.7, in Mauritania 4.4, and in Guinea and Senegal, 4.6 and 4.5 respectively. Therefore, the potential demand for electricity in these countries will grow in the coming years.
Hydropower remains West Africa’s important source of clean energy. Among the four countries of the region, Guinea leads in terms of the hydropower share in the generation mix (72%), followed by Mali (30%), Mauritania (11%) and Senegal (6%, according to the Ember Research Centre).
