A project undertaken by a Tunisian-based EPC is set to remedy the electricity problems in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic (CAR).
The project is funded by the Saudi Development Fund (FSD) under the umbrella of the CAR Ministry of Economy, Planning and Cooperation, and contracted to TRAGADEL in Tunis. The project includes the acquisition and installation of generators and photovoltaic street lighting.
Clarke Energy announced the provision of four units of Kohler-SDMO KD3500-F diesel generator sets for TRAGEDEL to power CAR’s electricity network.
This project is an important milestone to Clarke Energy as it will be the first reference in the Central African Republic and its largest diesel power plant in Africa outside hundreds of units of Jenbacher power generator sets already installed and running across the continent on gas, the company said in a statement.
Relief on the way for Bengui residents
The project will add 10MW to the country’s capital city electricity network, hence improve the living conditions of the population as Bangui suffers several hours of interrupted power supply on a daily basis.
The power plant is set to run as baseload or peaking power and the electrical energy generated will be injected into the public utility grid, owned and managed by ENERCA.
The new units are robust and will offer the necessary flexibility to implement heavy overhaul maintenance on an existing obsolete hydroelectric generating plant.
The generator sets are built-in 40-foot weatherproof containers, which meet the strictest criteria in terms of performance, soundproofing, robustness and ease of maintenance. The base of the container is designed to have internal retention, able to retain a possible fuel, oil or coolant leak.
The generator specs for the Central African Republic
Kohler-SDMO’s 'Contenergy' container concept will offer a special adaptation for the customer's needs. Thanks to their standard size, Contenergy containers are easily transportable and, once on-site, installation is simplified on an external concrete slab with a relatively small footprint.
The generator engine KD3500-F produces 2.5MW nominal electric power and runs smoothly enabled by the engine’s conception and integral vibrator isolation mounted between components and skid. The engine is also characterised by low fuel consumption due to a high common rail injection technology and also a smaller footprint as a result of high power density.
According to Clarke Energy, the ability to manage the project turnkey while meeting project specifications and the installation footprint of the package were an important selection criteria for TRAGEDEL.
Clarke Energy’s SDMO package was also selected as a result of best compromise power/footprint, installation constraints, long maintenance intervals, availability, reliability, simplified maintenance, competitive price and best lead time, the company statement advised.
