Cap Des Biches is a 327 MW oil power station in Nouakchott, Senegal. It is operated by West Africa Energy SA [100%]. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 246k homes (estimated). It ranks #2 of 21 Senegal power plants by installed capacity. In context, oil supplies about 78.6% of Senegal's electricity; the national grid averages 540 gCO₂/kWh (19.8% low-carbon) (2024).
Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1023158.
Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.
The capacity and fuel fields on this page are source-record values from the upstream open dataset. They are useful for identification and ranking, but they have not been upgraded to a 2026 registry/GEM-location verified value.
capacity: WRI Global Power Plant Database source-record (legacy); fuel: WRI source-record fuel
At 327 MW, Cap Des Biches is well above the median oil plant in Senegal (68 MW). Technically it is described as CCGT; combined-cycle with a heat-recovery steam generator (HRSG); GE Power: 9E.03. Its current lifecycle status is “construction” — so it is not yet, or no longer, generating at full output. Oil-fired plants burn heavy fuel oil or diesel, usually as peaking or backup capacity on islands and grids without gas pipelines; high fuel cost keeps their utilisation low.
Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.
Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).
Operated by West Africa Energy SA [100%].
This oil plant burns oil or diesel to drive turbines or reciprocating engines. It sits in a hot desert climate (Köppen BWh) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 17.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.
Climate zone & typical temperatures: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid).
For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. This site sits in a moderately corrosive environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C3 — Medium), with heat / UV the leading environmental stress.
Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.
Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.
The #1 largest oil power plant of 6 in Senegal by capacity.
Senegal has 6 oil power plants in this dataset, together about 538 MW of capacity.
Coordinates 17.7197, -17.2996 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.
Cap Des Biches is a 327 MW source-record oil power plant in Nouakchott, Senegal, planned/announced for 2026.
Its output is enough to supply roughly 245,530 homes (estimated).
Cap Des Biches is operated by West Africa Energy SA [100%].
