New Command Center Supporting African Power Grid Will Use GE Vernova Software
An initiative aimed at connecting more of Africa’s population to the continent’s power grids will use GE Vernova’s GridOS orchestration software. A newly completed Information and Coordination Centre (ICC) in Abomey-Calavi, Benin, designed for the West African Power Pool (WAPP), is considered “a groundbreaking initiative aimed at transforming the region’s energy landscape,” according to an Oct. 24 announcement from GE Vernova.
The ICC will be a command center for member countries of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS). The ICC will oversee the interconnected power grids of 14 countries, including Benin, Burkina-Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.
Officials on Thursday called the project a “milestone” that “marks a significant step towards establishing a unified power market across the region, paving the way for a more reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy infrastructure for West Africa.”
“GE Vernova is pleased to be working with the West African Power Pool to help address some of the regional energy challenges,” said Mahesh Sudhakaran, general manager for GE Vernova’s Grid Software business. Sudhakaran told POWER: “This work is a prime example of the key role digital technology plays in the energy transition. Our GridOS software is essential in enabling WAPP to manage the exchange of energy among its member states more securely and reliably.”
Major Growth in Power Demand
A recent International Energy Agency (IEA) Africa Energy Outlook report said Africa’s gross domestic product is expected to grow by an average of 4.6% per year between 2022 and 2040. That economic growth is expected to drive up energy demand by 2.8% per year. The report said electricity consumption in Africa will likely to double by 2040.
The West Africa Power Pool, by utilizing the ICC, is expected to expand power capacity and support better forecasting of power supply and demand. Officials said it would help ensure “a seamless balance between generation and demand across borders,” according to a GE Vernova news release.
The ICC facility is equipped with advanced electric grid management technologies. GE Vernova said elements of the GridOS software portfolio “are deployed in the facility to enable more secure, reliable grid orchestration. The software is designed to help utilities achieve the resiliency and flexibility needed for a more sustainable energy grid.”
The ICC will use several of the GridOS portfolio’s intelligent grid applications, including:
• Energy Management System (EMS) engineered for dispatching.
• Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS) designed for grid stability.
• Advanced Market Management System designed to support the trading of power among ECOWAS countries.
The ICC technology platform also has been upgraded with the GridOS forecasting solution to enhance the value of variable renewable energy on the electricity market with advanced forecasting and ramping tools. The integration will enable engineers to have near real-time access to data on energy flow across the WAPP interconnected network, which officials said will enable them “to monitor, analyze, and optimize the distribution of power.”
“We are honored to partner with WAPP in their mission to promote and develop power generation and transmission infrastructures, as well as to coordinate power exchange among the ECOWAS member states. Our GridOS portfolio provides the ICC with modern software capabilities to automate grid operations and help increase the energy transaction rate across the region, helping overcome energy challenges in the ECOWAS zone,” said Sudhakaran.
GE Vernova has worked with national electric utilities and regional power pools in Africa as they look for technologies to modernize the continent’s grid. The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) in November 2022 inaugurated a new Coordination Control Center equipped with the latest EMS from GE Vernova’s Grid Software business.
—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).