Nurturing local photovoltaic energy generation for the industrial sector

In Senegal the need for continuous and reliable electricity supply for industrial processes has resulted in private sector actors investing in their own electricity production facilities. For example, Sococim Industries produces all its electricity from gas and fuel oil-fired generators. However, faced with growing demand for electricity and the disastrous environmental impact of these installations, it is now turning toward a source of clean energy.

In order to optimise its energy mix and reduce its carbon footprint, Sococim Industries has implemented the Solarcim project, to be delivered by Urbasola. The objective of the cement plant is to source its own electricity from a photovoltaic installation. The FFEM helped Sococim with the legal and financial aspects of project start-up via the climate Private Sector Innovation Facility (FISP-Climat).

The project has five components:

• Project development and administrative support, in particular obtaining the necessary permits to build the generating facility to comply with Senegalese regulations.
• Detailed definition of the technical solutions.
• Legal and financial set-up: drafting contracts, securing finance for the operation, incorporating the FISP-Climat subsidy.
• Construction and commissioning of the power plant.
• Operation and maintenance of the power plant at Sococim Industries, performance monitoring, preventive and corrective maintenance.

• Production of renewable electricity for 25 to 30 years.
• Preservation of natural resources by using electricity from photovoltaic sources as a reliable, globally-accessible and inexhaustible supply.
• Improving the skills of local actors in photovoltaic systems and creating both short- and medium-term employment and activity.

The SOLARCIM project is a precursor project demonstrating the technical, economic, environmental and societal viability of a photovoltaic system for own-supply at an industrial site - a cement plant in this case. It is the first project of this configuration in Africa. It will make it possible to deploy other projects like this across the African continent. It also serves as a benchmark, heralding the advent of the photovoltaic sector throughout Senegal.