Mali’s interim president Assimi Goita officiated over a groundbreaking ceremony on 24 May for the construction of a 200MW solar power plant at Sanankoroba in the western Koulikoro region.

The facility is being built by NovaWind, a subsidiary of Russia's state-owned Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation (Rosatom).

The plant will include a 20MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) and will extend across 300 hectares. The construction work will take 12 months to complete at a cost of more than CFA franc 120 billion (US$198.8 million).

The project includes building an evacuation station at the site, expanding the existing Sanankoroba substation and linking the two via an 11km transmission line. In addition, 20km of access roads will be built connecting the power plant to National Road 7 (RN7).

Ce vendredi, le Président de la Transition, SE le Col @GoitaAssimi, Chef de l’État, a donné le coup d’envoi de la construction de la nouvelle centrale solaire à Sanankoroba, dans la région de Koulikoro. Cette cérémonie marque un tournant décisif pour l’avenir énergétique du Mali. pic.twitter.com/IGjI2QDTuX

— Presidence Mali (@PresidenceMali) May 25, 2024

According to the state news agency ORTM, the Sanankoroba facility has been designed to operate for 20 years and full control will be transferred to Mali's Ministry of Energy and Water after the first 10 years.

According to President Goita, the plant is the first in a series of solar farms to be constructed in Mali.

The Renewable Energies Integration (REI) programme financed by the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) envisages US$1.3 billion of spending on priority projects in Mali to facilitate the integration of 599MW of renewables capacity by 2030, along with the construction of 103.4MW of minigrids. This would increase the share of clean energy in Mali's energy mix from 13% in 2020 to 35% by 2030, benefitting more than 1 million citizens.

In an early March interview with ORTM, Minister of Economy and Finance Alousseni Sanou said NovaWind is also prepared to build a 150MW solar farm at Bougouni in the south of the country over a period of 12 months.