A financing agreement for the Dwangwa solar project in Malawi has been signed between Voltalia and the International Finance Corporation (IFC).
As a result of the project, the East African country will be able to lessen its reliance on electricity imports. It will also reduce its dependency on hydroelectricity, which has already been damaged by the drought in the region. The future project will have a total capacity of 65 MW with a battery storage system.
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The decarbonization and diversification of Malawi’s electricity mix hold promise. It is said that a solar power plant including battery storage will be constructed near the Dwangwa Lake area, 165 kilometers from Lilongwe.
Under the terms of a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA), the generated electricity would be sold to the state-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM).
Development of the Dwangwa solar project in Malawi
The Dwangwa solar project is being carried out by the independent power producer (IPP) Voltalia. A 10-MWh battery storage system will be installed at the facility. This will also give it a total capacity of 65 MW from solar energy and battery storage combined.
The innovative project accounts for roughly 10% of Malawi’s installed capacity. It would also have a particularly substantial positive impact on local development. This is according to the French company run by Sebastien Clerc.
Only 15% of the people in this Southern African country have access to electricity, despite having 400 MW of installed capacity, the World Bank reports. The Malawian government is betting on the development of renewable energy in this context, which also includes natural calamities as well as a high cost of living.
In light of this, Solarcentury Africa, a global producer of solar solutions, as well as Renewable Energy Services Africa, a British company, further agreed to construct the Nkhoma Deka solar photovoltaic power plant (50 MWp) in 2021.
