83 MW Solar PV Capacity Green Lighted In Mali

• Mali government has approved 2 decrees which will pave the way for the construction of 83 MW solar power capacity in the country
• One of the projects with 50 MW capacity will be built by the subsidiary of France's Legendre
• Another project with 33 MW capacity has been planned by Norway's Scatec that will realize the project through a special purpose vehicle

The Government of Mali has approved 2 decrees for the construction of 83 MW solar PV capacity in the African country proposed to be developed as 2 projects. The authorities believe this will accelerate construction of the projects.

A 30-year concession has been offered by the government for a 50 MW solar power project of French group Legendre's subsidiary Legendre Energie. The independent power producer (IPP) will finance, design, build and operate the project that's expected to cost around CFA 60.8 billion ($110 million), according to local media reports.

Fana Solar Power is expected to bring the 50 MW Fana Solar Power Plant online, and sell the power to national electricity utility Energie du Mali.

The other project will have 33 MW capacity and is to be built by Norway's Scatec (previously Scatec Solar) for an estimated investment of €48.4 million ($57 million). In 2015, it secured a power purchase agreement (PPA) with national utility Electricité du Mali (EDM) for the Segou Solar Power Plant that will be located in Pelengana council in Segou. According to Afrik21, the project is being developed by its subsidiary Segou Solaire in partnership with World Bank subsidiary IFC InfraVentures, and local company Africa Power.

In June 2019, Scatec and partners signed an amendment to the project concession agreement for this project with the Mali government (see Second 65 MW Scatec Solar Egypt Project Energized).

"The delay observed in the execution of the project and the drop in the sale price per kilowatt-hour made it necessary to re-revise the contract concerning, in particular, the definition of certain terms, i.e. the buyer's right of substitution, the applicable tax and customs regime, and the modalities of implementation of the surety agreement," local media reported referring to the Council of Ministers statement.

Apart from these projects, there is also a 500 MW solar park planned in the country as India's National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) earned a project management consultant job for the same in June 2020 (see NTPC Gets 500 MW Solar Park Project Contract In Mali).