On Tuesday 28 May 2024, Mali’s President of the Transition, Assimi Goïta, launched the construction of a 100 MWp solar power plant in Safo, in the Koulikoro region. This initiative comes against a backdrop of persistent load shedding affecting households and businesses alike.
The plant, built in partnership with China, will cover 228 hectares and use monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic panels. At the groundbreaking ceremony, Bintou Camara, Mali’s Minister of Energy and Water, stressed that “this project reflects President Goïta’s vision for an energy system based on renewable energies”. According to her, the work, 50% of which is financed by the national budget, will be completed in 15 months.
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This new project is being launched just a few days after the laying of the foundation stone for the Sanankoroba solar power plant. With an expected capacity of 200 MWp, it will be the largest solar power plant in sub-Saharan Africa, covering an area of 314 hectares. The park is being built some thirty kilometres from the capital Bamako, under a partnership between the government and NovaWind, a subsidiary of Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency (Rosatom).
For the transitional government, “these projects mark a new stage in the diversification of Mali’s partnerships with Russia, China and Turkey, illustrating a desire for energy autonomy and sustainable development”. The main aim of these projects is to respond to the electricity crisis that has been undermining the Malian economy for the past eight months.
Jean Marie Takouleu