121 Electric Buses Are Now Running On Clean Renewable Electricity In Senegal

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Lately, despite the political winds in the US, there sure has been a lot of good sustainability news, and much of it is about what is happening abroad. There are now 121 electric buses, and big ones, running on clean, renewable electricity in Senegal. That is, no fossil fuels. 

Apparently, many people who previously drove cars, and presumably ones that run on gas or diesel, prefer to ride the new electric buses. Getting people out of fossil-fuel personal vehicles is an excellent solution to climate change, toxic air pollution, gridlock and disastrous oil spills.

Having so many fully electric buses reduces air pollution and supports further electrification of transportation because they serve as proof of concept.

About 59 million tons of CO2 emissions can be prevented each year by using the electric buses rather than diesel buses. The electricity for the buses comes from solar power generation, and Senegal has plenty of free sunlight.

The new buses and solar power also helped create new jobs. One of the new bus drivers makes the point that the electric buses don’t generate toxic fumes like diesel buses do and therefore the e-buses are also better for bus driver health.

Generating power domestically supports the national economy rather than importing energy resources which are costly. “To fully meet domestic product demand, Senegal relies heavily on refined imports, particularly from Russia. Of the 90–100 kbd of refined products imported during 2024–2025, 50–60 per cent originated from Russia,” Kpler noted. This means Senegal, while exporting its own oil, is dependent on Nigeria for crude feedstock and on Russia for refined fuels.”

Energy dependency means sending a great deal of money out of the country to pay for foreign energy resources. Broadly speaking, the more energy a nation can produce on its own, the better that country’s financial position will be.

The future is clean renewables plus energy storage and electrified transportation. The Senegalese electric buses are also huge batteries on wheels and if the technology is available they could be used to backup grids during times of need such as power outages, when the buses are not in use.

Further, the batteries could be used for stationary energy storage in their second life when they are no longer suitable for bus operations.

Having 121 fully electric buses, not hybrids, means the fleet can also be expanded so eventually all buses in Dakar and possibly Senegal are fully electric.