Mali makes electrification gains with 50 MW solar plant
Mali, Bamako: A 50 MW solar plant west of Bamako in Mali is now the largest operational plant in West Africa.
Image for illustration purposes
Mali, Bamako: A 50 MW solar plant west of Bamako in Mali is now the largest operational plant in West Africa.
A flagship Akuo Group project, the Kita solar plant, injected its first kilowatt-hour into the Malian power grid in March 2020.
The plant now covers the electricity needs of 120,000 Malian homes and will reduce CO2 emissions in the country by more than 52,000 t year.
The country is targeting improving the share of renewable energy sources into the electricity mix to 37 % by 2030.
The successful commissioning of the plant is also a step towards reducing the country’s dependence on imported fossil fuels, use of wood fuel from the country’s forests and hydroelectricity, which is currently jeopardised by climate change.
Large hydropower generation accounts for 51 % of the country’s installed capacity, but rainfall and hydrological changes are impacting generation and the country is increasingly turning to oil-powered stations.
The plant’s financing was undertaken by the West African Development Bank, Banque National du Développement Agricole, Dutch development finance company FMO and Emergin African Infrastructure Fund, which is an investment fund managed by Ninety One.
PASH Global is Akuo’s co-shareholder on the project. Kofi Owusu Bempah and Vine Mwense, founders of PASH, said: “We are delighted to have co-invested for a 49.9 % share in this prestigious Project, the first of its kind in Mali.”
Completed by a predominantly African construction staff, the Kita solar plant is now being run by an exclusively Malian team, according to Akuo Group’s press release.
Pierre-Antoine Berthold, managing director of Akuo Energy Africa: “Thanks to the Akuo Groups acknowledged expertise, which covers all production technologies and the numerous additional benefits provided to local populations through the types of projects we design, today we want to accelerate our development in Africa with a mid-term target of having plants generating a gigawatt of power from renewable energy sources.”
Source: Power Engineering International