Hommam Al Nassim 
The State of Mali has begun building the largest solar power station in West Africa, with the aim of confronting the severe electricity crisis that the country is currently suffering from.
The project, which is being implemented in cooperation with Russia, aims to provide a sustainable solution to this crisis and strengthen the country’s faltering economy.
The solar station, located in the city of Sanankoruba near the capital, Bamako, is designed to cover an area of 314 hectares and have a capacity of 200 megawatts.
Novawind, a subsidiary of the Russian nuclear energy giant Rosatom, announced the start of work on the solar station, and the station is expected to contribute to enhancing local electricity production in Mali by 10%.
Plans include operating the station for up to 20 years, as it will be subject to full financial control by the Ministry of Energy after 10 years of operation.
The cost of the project is estimated at more than 216 million US dollars, and the work is expected to take a full year.
According to Mali’s Minister of Economy and Finance, Alosini Sanou, nearly 70% of Mali’s electricity production comes from thermal sources, which puts heavy pressure on the financial budget of Malian electricity company Energie de Mali.
A statement issued by the Presidency of the Republic in Mali confirmed that this station is a major step towards diversifying the country’s electricity sources and reducing its dependence on fossil fuel sources, which indicates the government’s commitment to transitioning to clean and sustainable energy.
It is noteworthy that Mali’s geographical location near the equator ensures the constant availability of sunlight, which provides great potential for benefiting from solar energy in generating electricity and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.
The West African country sees more than 3,000 hours of sunlight per year on average, making it an attractive destination for solar energy projects.
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