Akuo has put West Africa’s largest solar plant, the 50MW Kita facility, into service.
Kita, located 180km west of Bamako in the Kayes Region in Mali, covers the electricity needs of 120,000 Malian homes.
The Kita solar plant is now being run by an exclusively Malian team and is also expected to create up to 200 long-term jobs for women in the local area, said Akuo.
The project strengthens the commitment of Mali, a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol in 1995, to fighting climate change and allows it to move closer to its 2030 national renewable energy targets, Akuo said.
Kita also has a five hectare plot growing crops for those who live near the plant.
Training in techniques to improve organic farming is being provided by the Akuo Foundation team.
The plant’s financing was undertaken through a consortium including the West African Development Bank, Banque Nationale du Developpement Agricole and Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund.