HARNESSING THE SUN – THE 20MW SALIMA SOLAR PROJECT

The Electricity Generation Company (Malawi) Limited (EGENCO) wishes to inform its stakeholders and the general public that the Company will hold a signing ceremony of the 10 Megawatt Salima Solar Project on Thursday, 28th October 2021 at Kabumba hotel in Salima district.

This Project is the first phase of a scalable 20MW Solar Power Plant that will be implemented in two phases of 10MW each. The initial phase will take 24 months, with the first 6 months for the feasibility study and the remaining period for design, supply, installation and commissioning of the 10MW Solar PV Power Plant. EGENCO has already secured enough land for future scaling up of the plant that may go up to 50MW.

The project is being implemented with battery storage. The contract being signed is a solar Photovoltaic (PV) System only and battery storage will be procured under a different contract. The Salima Solar Project is being funded by EGENCO’s own resources at a total cost of USD12 million, approximately MWK10 billion. It is expected to be commissioned by end 2023.

The Salima Solar Power Plant will become EGENCO’s biggest solar power plant, following the 1.3MW Likoma and Chizumulu Solar Power Plants that were commissioned in the year 2020. This is in line with the company’s strategy of increasing power generation and diversification of energy sources. EGENCO intends to improve its power generation mix from being 95% hydro based to 76% hydro based in the first five years of its strategy and do away with overreliance on hydropower.

Alternative sources of power such as the Salima Solar Power Plant will supplement the already existing sources of electric energy in EGENCO’s power generation system in order to continue improving power generation in the country.