Malawi’s 20 MW Golomoti Solar Project Secures Financial Backing

Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has confirmed financial support for Malawi’s 20-MW Golomoti Solar project by providing liquidity cover through its Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF). The solar project was jointly developed by Canadian independent power producer (IPP) JCM Power Corporation and InfraCo Africa Limited, a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). 

With the support from Innovate UK, the innovation agency of the United Kingdom, Golomoti Solar will be the first commercial-scale solar plant in Malawi equipped with a battery energy storage capacity of 5 MWh. The electricity produced by the solar plant will be sold to the national power utility Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Ltd (ESCOM), under a previously signed 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Obbie Banda, underwriter responsible for ATI’s Renewable Energy Sector Initiatives and Portfolio, said renewable sector reforms introduced by the government of Malawi in recent years have contributed to the development of two renewable energy projects in the country.  “We hope to continue being a part of this positive journey in the future, not only in Malawi but across the African continent with the view of making a contribution towards a Just Energy Transition,” he added.

Golomoti Solar project becomes the fourth project to benefit from a cover under the RLSF, which was created in 2017 to help tackle climate change. RLSF has already helped projects totaling 108.5 MW to reach financial close. Among those is another project developed in Malawi by JCM Power, Matswani Capital, and InfraCo Africa- the 60-MW Salima solar PV plant, inaugurated recently.

Golomati Solar has benefited from knowledge-sharing with the Salima Solar project, as both the projects are beneficiaries of the evolving regulatory framework within Malawi that has facilitated the advancement of such renewable energy projects. The Salima and Golomoti Solar PV plants will together utilize Malawi’s solar potential and increase the total installed power generation capacity of the country to over 80MW by early 2022.