Aggreko, the global leader in the provision of temporary power and temperature control services, has signed a contract with the national utility company of Côte d’Ivoire to provide 70MW of temporary power fuelled by natural gas to support the country’s national grid for the next two years. The estimated value of the contract is around €35 million.
The contract, awarded by the Société de Gestion du Patrimoine du Secteur de l’Electricité (SOGEPE) and the Société d’Opération Ivoirienne d’Electricité (SOPIE), will help alleviate power cuts and stabilise the national power grid, following recent plant breakdowns. Given the urgency of the requirement, Aggreko will begin mobilising equipment to Côte d’Ivoire as soon as the usual contractual protections and guarantees have been put in place, and expects to have the power plant operational in May. Once commissioned, the plant will run continuously, providing power to the national grid on a 24/7 basis.
This is the first contract Aggreko has been awarded in Côte d’Ivoire, and will be Aggreko’s largest gas-fuelled project. The Company has over a decade of experience in Africa where it is currently supplying over 1,000MW of power across 17 countries.
Rupert Soames, Chief Executive of Aggreko, said: “Four years ago we started investing in gas-fuelled power generation and we now have a fleet of over 250 MW. Gas is a cleaner, and often cheaper, fuel than diesel, but historically gas plants have taken many months to construct. Due to our investment in designing and packaging standardised power plants, we are proving that it is possible to provide cost-effective utility-scale gas power solutions in a matter of weeks.”