West Africa’s biggest solar farm has been launched in Burkina Faso.
It is a 33-megawatt plant designed to power tens of thousands of households, AFP news agency reports.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who is on a visit to the region, joined his Burkinabe counterpart Roch Marc Kabore for the inauguration of the 55-hectare (135-acre) farm in Zaktubi, outside the capital, Ouagadougou.
According to AFP, it cost $56.7m (£42.2m) to build and was funded by donations from the European Union and a loan from France’s development agency.
Only about 20% of Burkina Faso’s 17 million population has access to the electricity grid – with many people using wood or bottled butane gas, AFP says.
The country hopes to meet 30% its electricity needs through solar power by 2030, it adds.
Two other plants are also being planned.
AFP
