US-based global energy company ContourGlobal has entered into a long-term service agreement with Finland-based global energy and marine technology and lifecycle solutions group Wärtsilä for the former’s Cap des Biches power plant in Dakar, Senegal. Although Wärtsilä booked this contract in March, it only publicised it on Monday.

Cap des Biches power plant was inaugurated in 2016 and uses five Wärtsilä 46 internal combustion engines, plus a combined cycle heat recovery system. It was implemented in two phases, the first involving the installation of three of the generating units and the heat recovery system (this being the configuration when the plant was inaugurated), and the second seeing the addition of the other two units.

The power plant has a total output of 86 MW. The electricity it generates is sold to Senegal’s national electricity distributor, Senelac, under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

“Our partnership with ContourGlobal has been strong for a number of years, and this agreement represents another step in furthering the relationship,” highlighted Wärtsilä Energy Business director Africa Marc Thiriet. “Long-term service agreements are a central element in our lifecycle support approach to meeting the specific operational needs of our customers. They come with guarantees that promote both reliability and operational performance.”

The agreement includes the provision of all spare parts for major overhauls of the engines, along with the option of the deployment of field service personnel to undertake maintenance. The agreement includes a guarantee that Wärtsilä will minimise the downtime during scheduled maintenance.

“We have worked closely with Wärtsilä on projects in different countries, and appreciate the professional and highly qualified support that they are able to deliver,” affirmed ContourGlobal Africa CEO Ara Hovsepyan. “This agreement provides us with important guarantees that will allow us to supply electricity to the grid in line with our commitments. Furthermore, it provides predictability of costs, while freeing our people to focus on their core business.”