July 27 — Malawi has completed the installation of a 20-megawatt utility-scale battery storage system, the only facility of its kind in southern Africa outside South Africa and Namibia, as the country seeks to strengthen its power network and reduce blackouts.
Officials from the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM) switched on the battery over the weekend in the capital, Lilongwe. The system is intended to help stabilize electricity supplies in one of the world’s least electrified countries.
Malawi is working to make its power grid more resilient to climate shocks. A strong El Niño weather pattern is expected to bring higher temperatures and reduce flows in the Shire River, which supplies most of the water used for the country’s hydropower generation.
Only about a quarter of Malawians currently have access to electricity. The government aims to raise that figure to 70% by 2030. Hydropower plants, which provide about two-thirds of Malawi’s electricity, were severely damaged by Cyclone Freddy three years ago.
Solar power currently accounts for about 100 MW of Malawi’s 580-MW generating capacity.
“This project is about providing the steady, high-quality power that our hospitals need to save lives. It is about what our schools need to educate our children, and our businesses need to thrive,” Energy Minister Jean Mathanga said on Friday at the project site in Lilongwe.
Malawi plans to add three more battery storage facilities with a combined capacity of 60 MW in two other cities.
The first project was funded by the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet. ESCOM Chief Operations Officer Sinosi Maliyano said the battery system would help connect 600,000 additional households and reduce blackouts from four hours to less than two hours.
