Nkhotakota Solar Power Station, is an operational,

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

power plant in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

. The solar farm, whose first phase, with capacity of 21 MW, was commercially commissioned in March 2023, is under expansion to 38 MW by a

consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

comprising independent power producers ''Phanes Group'' and

Serengeti Energy Limited Serengeti Energy Limited, formerly called responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding (rAREH), is an independent power producer (IPP) company Headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, with investments in sub-Saharan Africa. Serengeti Energy specializes in ...

(formerly responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding - ''rAREH'').

Location

The power station is in town of

Nkhotakota Nkhotakota (Un-kho-tah-kho-tuh) (formerly Kota Kota) (name derived from the Chichewa for "Corner Corner") is a town and one of the districts in the Central Region, Malawi, Central Region of Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi (formerly Lak ...

, in Malawi's Central Region, approximately , northeast of the city of

Lilongwe Lilongwe (, , ) is the capital and most populated city of the African country of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020 that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in th ...

, the regional headquarters and national capital. Nkhotakota lies on the shores of

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

, about southeast of the town of ''Kamphambale''.

Overview

The power station is a joint venture between ''Phanes Group'', an independent solar energy investor and developer based in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, United Arab Emirates and ''responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding (rAREH)'', a renewable energy investor based in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

, Kenya. Together, they are expected to form a special purpose vehicle company (which we shall refer to as Nkhotakota Solar), which will develop, design, finance, construct and operate the power station. The power generated is expected to be purchased by the Malawian public electric utility company,

Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Limited (ESCOM) is the state-owned power transmission and distribution company in Malawi. It is entirely in control of transmission and distribution of electric power in the country. ESCOM represents Mala ...

(Escom), in accordance with a 20-year power purchase agreement. Starting with installed capacity of 21 megawatts, the power station, which will be built in phases is expected to be expanded to capacity of 37 megawatts in the second phase. It is estimated that Nkhotakota Solar Power Station will supply 7 GigaWattHours (GWh) of energy annually, enough to supply 200,000 Malawian homes.

Ownership

The table below illustrates the ownership of Nkhotakota Solar Power Station and of Nkhotakota Solar, the special purpose vehicle company that operates the power station.

Funding

The cost of construction is reported to be US$40 million. Lenders, donors and guarantors to the project include: 1.

U.S. International Development Finance Corporation The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is a development finance institution and agency of the United States federal government. DFC invests in development projects primarily in lower and middle-income countries. Fi ...

(DFC) 2. Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI).

References

External links