Infinity Power inks 20-year BESS contract in Senegal: Egypt-based renewable energy developer Infinity Power — a joint venture between our friends at Infinity and UAE renewables player Masdar — has signed a 20-year Capacity Change Agreement agreement with Senegalese national utility Senelec to supply 40 MW of clean energy to the country’s grid through a battery energy storage system (BESS), according to a statement (pdf). The BESS system will help Senelec stabilize the country’s electrical grid. The expected investment ticket for the project was not disclosed.

More details: The company will break ground on its planned BESS system in 2024 with the aim to bring it online in 2025. The facility will be operated by Infinity’s 158.7 MW Taiba N’Diaye wind farm in Thies — the country’s first and largest utility-scale wind power project — which has increased the country’s generation capacity by 15%.

Big emissions cuts and savings: The project will offset an estimated 37k tons of emissions annually once operational, and increase national energy storage capacity in preparation for the country’s planned clean energy projects, the statement notes. Over its 20-year lifecycle, the project is expected to accrue USD 165 mn in power savings by reducing the network’s reliance on reserve capacity derived from thermal plants.

Infinity recently upped its renewables targets: Last month, the company said it is looking to expand its renewable energy portfolio to 10 GW by 2030 and said its target will likely garner some USD 5 bn in direct investments.

And already has a considerable foothold in Africa: Infinity Power, Masdar and Hassan Allam Utilities signed back in June a land allocation agreement with the Egyptian government for their USD 10 bn, 10 GW wind farm in Sohag. Infinity is also among seven consortiums that have bought the tender and conditions booklet for several planned renewables-powered desalination projects on Egypt’s North Coast, and is among companies interested in acquiring a stake in the 580 MW Gabal El Zeit wind farm.

Exports on the horizon: The company signed back in May an agreement with Greece-based Copelouzos Group to explore the feasibility of jointly developing renewable energy projects to export energy to Europe via its 3 GW Greece-Egypt Interconnector (GREGY).