Mali’s interim president Assimi Goita has presided over the groundbreaking ceremonies for two solar power plants in the west of the country following the groundbreaking ceremony for the 200MW Sanankoroba solar facility on 24 May.

The US$198.8 million Sanankoroba plant is being built by NovaWind, a subsidiary of Russia's state-owned Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation (Rosatom).

On 28 May, construction began on the 100MW Safo facility, which will be built across 228 hectares and will include a 50MWh battery energy storage system. According to the state news agency ORTM, China’s Sinohydro is building the plant.

Work is expected to be completed in 15 months. The project is 50% funded by the government.

Following this, on 1 June, President Goita officiated at the groundbreaking ceremony for the 100MW Tiakadougou-Dialakoro facility. The plant will be developed by the UAE’s AMEA Power in two 50MW sections over 120 hectares in a period of 12 months.

At the ceremony, Goita said the Tiakadougou-Dialakoro project was the last plant under the first wave of solar farms to be constructed in Mali.

Together, the facilities will generate a total of 400MW, which represents 43% of the country’s energy needs, currently estimated at 650MW.