Another power plant project cancelled, this time it is Senegal's turn. Gas is set to take its place — a missed opportunity for the development of renewables.
Senegal's President Macky Sall, in a television interview, announced that the construction of the Bargny coal-fired power plant, near Dakar, will not go ahead, in line with the commitments made by the country under the Paris Agreement. The announcement was welcomed by local communities and Senegalese activists who have been strongly opposing and actively campaigning against the coal plant for more than five years, while at the same time pushing the government to invest in renewable energy.
The project involves major banks, including the African Development Bank, the West African Development Bank, the Compagnie bancaire de l'afrique de l'ouest and the Netherlands Development Bank, all of which have funded the project, as well as Chinese investor Delta Group.
The cancellation of the project comes after a series of technical failures, financial difficulties and shareholder conflicts that have paralysed the project over the past four months, blocking coal imports and causing workers on the project to be laid off.
The cancellation of the Bargny power plant is the second major coal project to be cancelled on the continent this year, after Kenya's National Environment Tribunal annulled the licence previously granted to Amu Power for the construction of the Lamu coal-fired power plant in Kenya.
"The decision confirms that the voices of affected communities and of science calling for a halt to fossil fuels must be heard by governments. Senegal now has the opportunity to take a different, clean path towards development that places sustainability and justice at its centre," said Landry Ninteretse, regional team leader of 350Africa.org.
Unfortunately, the decision to block the coal plant does not represent a significant step forward in the energy transition towards a system based on renewables. The president has in fact announced that a gas-fired power plant will be built in place of the coal facility.
"As activists in Senegal, we welcome the presidential decision; however, we are wary of the 'transition plan' suggested by the Senegalese President, who is considering the possibility of converting the coal plant into a gas facility. We will also oppose this gas plant, as it is likely to have harmful effects on the wellbeing of the population of Bargny, Sendou and Rufisque in any case," said Mamadou Barry, Executive Director of Action solidaire international.
The African Development Bank announced last September that it would no longer finance any coal projects in Africa, further demonstrating the growing concern over the impacts of coal and the increasingly evident lack of support from banks and investors. At the time of the announcement, the bank's president, Akinwumi Adesina, spoke of $20 billion investment programmes in solar energy that would provide 10,000 megawatts of electricity to 250 million people in the region.