Mali is set to begin construction of the Segou solar photovoltaic power plant in southern Mali. This is after the government signed an agreement with Norwegian governments for the development.
The project consists of the design, construction and operations of a 33 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant and 2.8 km of a 33kV transmission line located in Segou approximately 240 km north-east of Bamako, Mali.
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Segou solar power plant
The Segou solar power plant will consist of 104,764 solar panels, mounted on steel piles, and about 10 inverter/transformer containers on a single 87 hectare plot of land, 50 of which will be operated for the 33 MW project. The photovoltaic plant itself will occupy 47 ha. The rest will consist of a logistics area of about 2.6 ha, a medical station, etc.
Norwegian independent power producer (IPP) is leading the consortium that won the tender for the construction of the plant. The solar project will cost US $53.7m which will be provided in part through loans from the African Development Bank (AfDB) through its large-scale renewable energy development programme, SREP (Scaling Up Renewable Energy Programme in Low Income Countries), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank in charge of corporate finance and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation.
The project will be implemented by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) under a 25-year Build, Own and Operate & Transfer (BOOT) Concession Agreement with the Government of Mali (GoM) and a 25-year Take-or-Pay Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Énergie du Mali (EDM), Mali’s national utility.
The plant upon completion will be connected to Mali’s national grid via the substation of the state-owned Mali Electricity Company (EDM) in Ségou, and will void 33,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
