The Gambia and Senegal signed a 50MW PPA

On March 31, The Gambia's National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) signed a power purchase agreement with its Senegalese counterpart, La Société Nationale d'électricité du Sénégal (Senelec). The PPA allows NAWEC to acquire and utilize up to 30 megawatts of Senegalese power this year, followed by up to 50 megawatts over the next five years. The electricity to be sold to The Gambia is generated by Senegal's Sambangalou Hydroelectric Plant, which has a capacity of 128 MW and will be exported via The Gambia River Basin Development Organisation's (OMVG) Soma and Brikama substations. OMVG is a sub-regional organization comprised of Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, The Gambia, and Senegal.

Over 40% of The Gambia's population lacks access to electricity. With the PPA in place, the Greater Banjul Area of The Gambia, which encompasses the towns of Banjul, Kanifing, and Brikama and is home to more than two-thirds of the country's population, would have sufficient power to satisfy the current demand increase.

Senegal has one of the greatest per capita renewable energy capacity ratios in the area, at 10.029 Watts, compared to The Gambia's 1.488 Watts. However, the Gambia River, on which Sambangalou's electricity generation is based, runs from Guinea-Conakry to The Gambia, highlighting the importance of transnational cooperation for the region's energy resilience and the fact that partnerships such as The Gambia and Senegal's new PPA will pave the way forward for West Africa's decarbonized, secure energy access.