The Cap des Biches 53 MW Power Plant, Senegal

Photo: Amanda Burke/OPIC

Thanks to innovative financing engineered by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Power Africa is helping Senegal expand its electricity supply.

OPIC’s President and CEO, Elizabeth L. Littlefield, recently led a high level private sector delegation to Senegal to highlight investment in the region and tour the OPIC-supported 53 megawatt Cap des Biches power plant which is being developed and operated by Contour Global, a leading US-based power developer.

In November 2015, OPIC committed up to $100 million to ContourGlobal, including an innovative cross currency swap in coordination with IFC, to support construction of a major combined cycle thermal power plant on the site of an old power plant in Senegal, which is providing a new and reliable source of power in the country. This commitment last year helped OPIC surpass its initial $1.5 billion commitment to Power Africa. 

ContourGlobal has extensive experience in emerging markets including a portfolio of 41 power plants, with approximately 3,718 megawatts of installed capacity in operation or under construction across 17 countries and four continents. 

Power generation is critical for development because it allows communities to access healthcare, education, business growth, and quality of life. The Cap des Biches power plant in Senegal, which is expected to begin operating in May 2016, will bring additional electricity that will help support Senegal’s economic development.

ContourGlobal is committed to advancing the social and economic development of the surrounding Cap des Biches community while expanding the power facility. In construction of the power plant, the company is employing more than 400 local workers, who will undergo corporate onboarding and participate in functional training programs that support health and safety on the job and enhance financial and leadership skills. It also requires its partners to maintain high standards while supplying equipment for the facility. Financial bonuses are given to partners who abide by the company’s health and safety policies.

ContourGlobal has also constructed a school boundary to improve safety for community youth, a women’s community facility, and has supported the rehabilitation of a maternity ward at the local community health center.

As the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, OPIC helps mobilize private capital to address critical development challenges. The Cap des Biches project is OPIC’s first financing of a utility-scale power project in Senegal and helps fulfill the U.S. development finance institution’s key role in President Obama’s Power Africa Initiative, which aims to double access to electricity in sub-Saharan Africa. OPIC-supported power projects in the region have contributed to Power Africa’s mission of adding 60 million new electricity connections and 30,000 new megawatts of generation capacity across the continent.

In addition to OPIC financing, the US Embassy provided support to Contour throughout the project development process, including early assistant to help align their project with Senegal’s energy policy and secure approvals for the project to be signed at the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit.

Across Africa, OPIC has supported a range of off-grid and utility-scale power projects generating electricity from renewable and traditional fuel sources, from South Africa to Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal. OPIC’s support for power project development in sub-Saharan Africa will create nearly 1,500 new megawatts of on-grid and off-grid electricity for homes, businesses, health facilities, schools, and communities. The agency looks forward to making additional transformational deals possible in Africa’s energy sector in the future.