Energy
Solar IPPs to pump 121MW into national grid by December
April 08, 2021 / Wahard Betha
Independent Power Producers (IPPs) pursuing solar power generation projects are expected to add about 121 MW to Malawi’s power grid by the end of this year, it was learnt in Parliament.
In a ministerial statement, Minister of Energy Newton Kambala informed the house that 60MW Salima project and 20MW Golomoti project both owned by JCM Matswani will be ready by April and December respectively while the 20MW Atlas Kanengo Project and the 21MW Phanes Energy Nkhotakota Project are expected to be functional by September.
“Malawi Government through Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) is diversifying its energy sources and is pursuing installation of a solar PV plants in Salima, Nkhotakota, Lilongwe and Dedza which are at advanced procurement stage.”
“The Single Buyer, Power Market Limited, has approved the projects to be implemented. The projects will commence in the second half of the year 2021,” Kambala said.
Currently, EGENCO generates about 300MW of electricity from the installed electricity generation capacity of 508MW against projected demand of 719MW from the growing population and industry.
If the solar IPPs successfully commission the power plants, the country will raise the energy generation bar to 421MW by the end of this year.
Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have been negotiated with Power Market Limited as the licensed agent for buying power from all the producers.
The single buyer, independent as required, was still housed in Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) hence, the PPAs were signed by ESCOM as the single buyer at the time of amendment of the Electricity Act.
In the statement, Kambala also said despite opening up of the power sector to the IPPs, Government continues to participate in the market through the state owned company Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO).
Kambala said: “In order to sustain the power supply from the existing power plants, there are maintenance and rehabilitation to existing power plants.”
“The plants that have recently been rehabilitated include Tedzani 3 and currently work on the rehabilitation of Tedzani 1 and 2 is in progress. EGENCO has also rehabilitated Nkula A.”
“Apart from the maintenance and rehabilitation, new projects are being planned and executed. One such project is the 18MW hydro power plant at Tedzani which started in 2018 and is expected to finish in 2021 with funding from the Japanese Government.”
Though Malawi’s new energy policy advocates for diversification of sources of power, hydro power remains the most attractive source considering its least cost operating cost despite its high investment cost.
EGENCO is currently planning to construct the Mpatamanga Hydro Power Plant, expand the Wovwe Power Plant, and set up the Kammwamba Coal Fired Power Plant.
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Rehabilitation:
The establishment of a stable and self-sustaining ecosystem, but not necessarily the one that existed before mining began. In many cases, complete restoration may be impossible, but successful remediation, reclamation, and rehabilitation can result in the timely establishment of a functional ecosystem.
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Remediation:
The cleanup of the contaminated area to safe levels by removing or isolating contaminants. At mine sites, remediation often consists of isolating contaminated material in pre-existing tailings storage facilities, capping tailings and waste rock stockpiles with clean topsoil, and collecting and treating any contaminated mine water if necessary.
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