Accelerating Urban Energy Transition in Thiès: Investing in a Sustainable Future

Thiès, the 'City of Rail,' is modernizing its public lighting: in 2024, the city council launched phase 3 of a 350 million FCFA project to replace a more than 20-year-old sodium network with LED streetlights on major avenues (Jean Colin, Lat-Dior, Léopold Sédar Senghor, Caen). The city has also deployed solar streetlights (1,541 installed out of 3,000 planned during a previous assessment) and is among the pilot communes for the PRODERE program. The Thiès region is a national energy hub: Taïba Ndiaye wind farm (158 MW), solar power plants in Malicounda, Mérina Dakhar, and Diass. In Malicounda, a power plant contributed to reducing power outages in the Thiès area by approximately 30% (2024 estimate). In Malicounda, the commune owns 5% of the solar plant's operating company, a model of local participation to be followed. The challenges remain managing the community's electricity bills, maintaining equipment, and extending efficient lighting to other avenues and neighborhoods. This mission mobilizes the diaspora to finance this expansion, invest in renewable solutions, and transfer skills, leveraging the École Supérieure Polytechnique de Thiès and sector stakeholders.