Gist Coven

West Africa’s biggest solar power plant came online on Wednesday (29 November) as Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest countries, inaugurates a novel scheme to boost renewables and cut energy dependence on its neighbours. The 55-hectare plant at Zagtouli on the outskirts of the capital Ouagadougou will be able to churn out 33 megawatts – enough to power tens of thousands of homes. Presiding over the opening ceremony will be Burkinabe President Roch Marc Christian Kabore and his visiting French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, whose country partially funded construction of the facility. “For the past six weeks the plant has been in a test phase with production of 14 MW, and will reach a peak of 33 MW during December, sufficient sunshine permitting,” said the site’s construction manager, Stephane Nosserau. “This is West Africa’s largest plant in terms of installed capacity,” added construction overseer Saidou Nana. The plant’s 129,600 260-watt solar panels are capable of ann...