MALAWI: Golomoti solar power plant with storage goes into commercial operation

The Golomoti solar project is entering the commercial operation phase. This step comes after a successful test phase. The 28.5 MWp solar plant is coupled with a 5 MW/10 MWh battery storage system and will provide 20 MW of much needed power to the Malawian power grid.

The project is a partnership between Canadian independent power producer (IPP) JCM Power (JCM) and InfraCo Africa, an investment company of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). The two companies signed a public-private partnership (PPP) with the Malawian government and a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the state-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM).

Support from several development partners

Golomoti is “a pioneering solar energy and energy storage project that will serve as a catalyst for many similar projects in the future. In addition to developing and financing the project, JCM Power managed the execution of the work. Despite many challenges due to the impacts of the global Covid-19 pandemic, we are pleased with the speed of project execution, the positive economic benefits to Malawi, and the safety of our employees and communities,” said Christian Wray, Managing Director of JCM Power.

The project was made possible with the support of several development finance institutions, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which funded the development phase of the project. The UK government’s Innovate UK Energy Catalyst program provided a grant for the installation of the battery storage system.

JCM Power also obtained a loan from the Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU) for the project. The Golomoti solar plant is also covered by a liquidity guarantee from the Africa Trade Insurance Agency (ATI).

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