Construction of the second phase of the Fekola Solar Plant in Mali is officially complete and operational as announced by B2Gold. The new phase adds an additional 22 MW to the solar plant, making the total capacity 52 MW. Land clearing and road construction for the second phase began in June 2023. Moreover, physical equipment construction began in February last year. All 46,200 solar panels were installed by the fourth quarter of 2024 and operations began two months ago in January. The Fekola Solar Plant now has a total of 142, 912 solar panels spread over land in southwestern Mali.
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More on the Fekola Solar Plant
The project is located nearly 280 miles west of Bamako, the capital of Mali. B2Gold, a Canadian mining company, has collaborated with BayWa to bring about the Fekola Hybrid Power Station, which encompasses the solar plant. The power station began construction in 2019 and was completed in 2021. The power station has a thermal energy plant that also produces 68 MW of power and has 17.3 MW of lithium ion battery energy storage. During the construction of the solar plant, more than 120 local jobs were created with 13 locals being trained and employed to work permanently on the site.
Project Overview
Location: Fadougou, Mali
Developers: B2Gold, BayWa
Project capacity: 52 MW
Number solar panels: 46,200
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The local community is set to enjoy a number of benefits from the site. These include reducing the annual emissions by 63,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. Additionally, there will be a reduction in the annual consumption of heavy fuel oil by an estimated 20 million liters at the site. An estimated 30% of the site’s total electricity demand will be supplied by the expanded solar plant. Furthermore, the Fekola Solar Plant is now considered one of the largest-off grid solar/HFO hybrid power plants in the world.
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