Published: April 3, 2018 |

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Endeavor Energy’s Tè Power (TPC) has reached financial close and broken ground on the $121m Tè Power Plant, a 50MW greenfield thermal power plant in Conakry, Guinea.

The Tè Project will be the first internationally development finance institution project-financed independent power project in Guinea and meets the most stringent local and international (World Bank/IFC) environmental requirements.

The Tè Project is sponsored by Endeavor Energy (Endeavor), as the lead developer and majority owner.

Endeavor is a leading Africa-focused independent power company backed by global private equity firm Denham Capital. Endeavor’s minority partner in the Tè Project is Energie, Environnement et Mines S.A. (E2M), a Mauritanian mining and power company.

“I would like to extend a warm thanks on behalf of Tè Power Company to the Government of Guinea and to all of our project partners for their continuous support and dedication in bringing this project to fruition, ” said Tè Power President Amadou Ba.

“The Tè Project is fully aligned with Guinea’s national economic and social development goals and represents the first step in Endeavor Energy’s commitment to a growing partnership with the Government of Guinea and to delivering additional power solutions in the years ahead for the people of Guinea.”

The Tè Project is specifically designed to help alleviate the power deficit in Guinea and provide reliable power as needed to meet the country’s future power demand in conjunction with Guinea’s ambitious renewable energy agenda and seasonal hydroelectric power generation.

“Guinea has made great strides over recent years to strengthen its power sector whilst at the same time creating an environment for international investing,” said Endeavor CEO Sean Long.

“We are very pleased to be working with Guinea’s government, as well as E2M, to realize this project. I am also proud of the Endeavor team for successfully working with our committed partners to achieve financial close on the required $89 million of debt financing for the Tè Project while at the same time continuing to execute on other important power projects across the continent.”

The plant’s construction is expected to take 15 months, coming online in mid-2019, and create up to 150 jobs (majority Guineans).

Further, up to 40 people will be employed during operations and once constructed, the plant will improve electricity access for over 1,000,000 Guineans.

“We’re pleased to have partnered with Guinea on this investment and proud that the Tè project has moved forward to the construction phase with our partners,” said Denham Capital Director Juergen Heeg.

“The Tè Project will have a significant developmental impact in Guinea, providing low cost, reliable power, local jobs and indirect economic and social benefits, while also supporting the country’s energy transition.”

The $121 million investment required for the Tè Project comprises $32 million in equity from Endeavor and $89 million in debt financing from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and CDC Group PLC (CDC). In addition, OPIC provided up to $30 million of political risk insurance.

“The Tè Power thermal plant will increase power supply by as much as ten percent and help Guinea meet its growing energy demand, which is projected to triple over the next ten years,” said OPIC President and CEO Ray Washburne.

“This project is a tremendous development opportunity and supports our broader effort to bring greater connectivity to Africa. It will have a huge impact in providing much needed power to help sustain the country’s development and economic growth.”

“We are proud to be financing this ground-breaking project, CDC’s first individual investment in Guinea,” said CDC Project Finance Head Lain Macaulay.

“It will provide reliable power, local jobs and support broader economic development. Having a privately funded power project delivering international environmental and social standards sends a strong signal that Guinea is open to the international investing community.

“CDC played a valuable role in the project by providing the debt finance that commercial banks were unwilling to offer.”

The Tè Project is another achievement for the U.S. Power Africa program and its partners OPIC, Endeavor, and Denham Capital.

“Power Africa is proud to have provided assistance to our partner Endeavor Energy and Denham Capital through the U.S. Agency of International Development and the Departments of Commerce and State, and today we congratulate them and the people of Guinea for reaching financial close on the Tè Project,” said Power Africa Coordinator Andrew M. Herscowitz.

Endeavor’s international legal adviser was Allen & Overy, while S.D. Avocats and Sylla & Partners served as Guinean legal advisors. DLA Piper acted as international legal adviser to the lenders, and Nimba Conseil served as Guinean legal advisor. Sargent &

Lundy served as lenders technical advisor and CDF Ingénierie and WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff acted as owners’ engineer.

Environmental Resources Management (ERM) acted as the owners’ environmental and social consultant, while Alliant Emerging Markets served as the insurance broker and consultant.

Source: Energy Business Review

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