Spurred by the sheer desire to alleviate energy and power problems in the country, Malawi president Dr. Lazarus Chakwera currently attending the ongoing COP27 World Leaders Climate Change Summit in Egypt on Tuesday has secured a K28 billion Solar Energy deal with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (Geapp)
The energy pact signing ceremony between Malawi Government and the Global Energy Alliance took place on the sidelines of the Climate Change Summit in the land of Pharaohs, Egypt.
Signed, sealed and delivered. Chakwera and Global Energy Alliance official shake hands after making the pact.
Energy minister Ibrahim Matola signed the agreement on behalf of the Malawi leader, President Chakwera, who was present at the signing ceremony, and the people of Malawi.
Under the agreement, the Global Energy Alliance will provide resources for the purchase of batteries to back up solar power in Malawi.
In his remarks President Chakwera said the deal will help Malawi to have sustainable power on the grid so that during peak hours and at night, the batteries will provide reliable backup power.
He said: “This deal on energy supply will go a long way in solving Malawi’s energy woes. WE are making progress.”
The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) is an alliance of philanthropy, local entrepreneurs, governments, and technology, policy, and financing partners.
GEAPP’s common mission, according to their website, is to support developing countries’ shift to a clean energy, pro-growth model that ensures universal energy access, unlocking a new era of inclusive economic growth, while enabling the global community to meet critical climate goals during the next decade.
GEAPP is partnered with global multilateral development banks, development finance institutions and regional development banks.
Malawi’s power sector is one of the most severely constrained in sub-Saharan Africa – less than 10 percent of the population of 18 million is connected to the electrical grid.
For the 80% of the people living in rural areas, access to electricity is less than one percent.
The total installed capacity for power generation in the interconnected grid of Malawi operated by Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) is approximately 362 megawatts (MW), of which 351 MW is hydropower and 11 MW is reciprocal engines (diesel sets).
With the majority of Malawi’s hydropower generation derived from the Shire River located south of Lake Malawi, the hydrology of the river determines, to a great extent, the available output of electricity at any time.
