The $217 million project will increase electricity production in Mali by 10%, according to NovaWind’s director
The wind energy division of Russia’s energy giant Rosatom, NovaWind, has begun construction of a 200 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Mali, according to Energy and Water Resources Minister Bintu Kamara.
The facility, which will extend over 314 hectares of land in Sanankoroba, near the capital, Bamako, is the largest in the West African subregion, the minister said in an interview with the national broadcaster ORTM on Friday.
“[It] will make it possible to significantly reduce the electricity shortage currently present in the country,” Kamara stated.
Presently, 70% of Mali’s electricity is produced from thermal plants.
According to latest World Bank data, approximately half of the country’s 21.9 million people have access to electricity. The former French colony’s authorities have committed to increase access to 90% by 2036, with urban access at 100% and rural access at 55%.
During the signing of the agreement with NovaWind for the photovoltaic solar power plant in March, Malian Minister of Economy Alousseni Sano reportedly said that relying on thermal power was costly and has weighed heavily on the country’s finances.
According to Novawind’s director Grigory Nazarov, the solar plant, which will cost €200 million ($217 million), will increase the Sahel nation’s electricity production by 10%, TASS reported.