A recent forum on potential power purchases within the framework of the 150MWp regional solar park project was organized by the West African Power Pool (WAPP) in the Gambia.
Under the sponsorship of the Minister of Petroleum and Energy of The Gambia and the Secretary General of the West African Power Pool (WAPP), a high-level meeting of representatives from the energy ministries, the Managing Directors of the national electricity companies of OMVG member countries, and the ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA) was held in Banjul, The Gambia.
The purpose of the expert meeting was to present the findings of the feasibility study, the preliminary findings of the design of the WAPP Regional Solar Power Park Project in The Gambia, and to explore interest in buying excess power generated by the regional solar park.
The high-level meeting noted that the Regional Solar Power Park Project in The Gambia is part of the list of the priority projects of the ECOWAS Master Plan for the Development of Regional Power Generation and Transmission Infrastructure 2019-2033 that was adopted by the authority of heads of state and government through the Supplementary Act A/SA.4/12/18 of December 22, 2018.
The pre-investment studies concluded that the implementation of the Regional Solar Power Park Project in The Gambia would be in two phases: The first phase, expected to be completed in 2024, will be exclusively for the supply of power to The Gambia, and the second phase, expected to be completed in 2026, is likely to make surplus power available to the regional grid operated by OMVG. The surplus energy could therefore be exported to the OMVG member countries, namely Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal;
EDG SA (Guinea), EAGB (Guinea-Bissau) and Senelec (Senegal) also expressed their interest in purchasing the surplus energy produced by this Regional Solar Power Park Project.
The Regional Electricity Market under implementation by the WAPP will facilitate electricity exchanges between the countries.
This meeting also took note of the recommendation of the experts’ meeting held on October 10, 2022, on the intergovernmental Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to be signed by the ministries in charge of energy of The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal.
The meeting, after examining the MoU, noted that it reflects the willingness of the various parties to collaborate for the speedy implementation of the WAPP Regional Solar Power Park Project in The Gambia.
The meeting, convinced of the significance of this MoU in the advancement of the Regional Solar Power Park Project in The Gambia, adopted it and asked the representatives of the energy ministries of Guinea, Guinea Bissau, and Senegal to submit it for signature to their respective ministers in accordance with the internal policies of each nation after it had been signed by the Minister of Petroleum and Energy of The Gambia.
In order to expeditiously sign the Memorandum of Understanding, the meeting instructed the WAPP Secretariat to follow up with the various representatives of the ministries responsible for energy in the affected nations.
