When I think of West Africa, one of the things that comes to mind is the sun. The Sahara Desert paints a big stripe through the centre of the region, and it’s damn hot in there. West Africa is also home to some of the world’s most impoverished people – countries like Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Mali, Benin, and Burkina Faso currently occupy the bottom rungs of the income ladder.
One of the classic “chicken and egg” problems in really poor countries is that the lack of infrastructure makes it so difficult for people to launch successful businesses, which in turn keeps the countries poor. International aid is a big help in helping to break the cycle here, but lots of West Africa is inland and very dry, and many types of industry, farming, and infrastructure aren’t well suited to the conditions.
Electricity generation is an example of this: the large dams and hydroelectricity plants that power other parts of Africa aren’t going to work on the edge of a desert, and there isn’t much coal in West Africa. But, like I mentioned back up in the first line, there’s no shortage of sun.
In light (sun pun) of this, it seems crazy that solar power hasn’t become a really big deal in places like West Africa. There are some small solar panels in villages that power things like phone chargers and a single light bulb in homes, but nobody – NOBODY – has got serious and built something big enough to power entire cities and towns. India, Chile, China, Thailand and South Africa have all done it. And now, it’s Mali’s turn.
A bit about Mali
Mali is a landlocked (no coastline) country in West Africa, and much of its territory is in the Sahara Desert. Most of its population of 14.5 million lives in the south of the country, which has better rainfall, numerous rivers, and land that is better for agriculture. While Mali is Africa’s third largest gold producer, around half of the nation’s people live in extreme poverty (under US$1.25 per day), and less than half of the population can read and write.
Then there’s the fighting, which broke out in 2012. Armed rebels took hold of territory in the north of the country, there was a military coup, and the French military launched an operation to restore order in early 2013. As is common in times of conflict, infrastructure (like bridges, water storage, school buildings) was destroyed, which is a massive problem in areas that were in deep poverty to start with. It makes it really tough to bounce back on your own, particularly if the conflict has claimed lives in the community.
The poverty and infrastructure issues are pretty obvious, so there’s lots of work needing to be done. Some of that work involves putting in the traditional basics (vaccinations, repairing bridges, and wells for clean water), but there’s another important area: embracing modern innovations as a way to change lives and help people out of extreme poverty. Examples of this might be building mobile phone towers in rural areas to enable farmers to connect to the internet, or using the latest solar technology to boost the nation’s energy supply.
The new solar plant
The solar technology idea made the transition from “good idea” to “thing that is happening” this month, with a partnership announced between Norwegian solar company Scatec Solar, Mali’s Ministry of Energy and Water, and Electricité du Mali (EDM), the electricity utility of Mali. The plan is to construct a 33 megawatt solar power plant, in southeast Mali, 240km from Bamako, the nation’s capital. How much power is 33 megawatts? It’s equal to about 5% of Mali’s national power needs, so it’s not just a back yard project… it’s a big deal. The World Bank has also contributed funding to enable the project to proceed.
At the official announcement of the solar plant, the Malian Minister of Energy and Water, Mr. Mamadou Frankaly Keita said “This landmark agreement signals the Government’s commitment to meet the nation’s growing energy demand and to provide clean, renewable and affordable energy to our people”.
There are going to be plenty of eyes on this project as it moves into the construction phase, and then the operational phase. International investors want to see that the government handles the project well, and that everything goes smoothly. Because if it goes well, more investors will believe in the potential of this part of the world, and will want to be a part of the major opportunity to transform West Africa through 21st century infrastructure. And the benefits to ordinary people are easily apparent; reliable, clean power that they can use to work better, learn better, and take more control of their lives.