[October Thematic Report] Renewable Energy Potential In Malawiby Prince Foley | 19-10-2022 11:18 |
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RENEWABLE ENERGY POTENTIAL IN MALAWI Inadequate energy supply is one of the major problems confronting Malawi and limiting its social, economic and industrial development. In terms of energy supply, the Malawi Energy Policy indicates that approximately 85% of energy comes from biomass largely exploited in a non-sustainable manner. Imported petroleum account for 3.5% of the energy and electricity produced from hydro power accounts for 2.3% of all energy Malawi has a large potential for renewable energy exploitation in a number of areas, the significant ones being solar energy, biomass, and hydropower with potential for geothermal and wind energy. Except for large scale hydropower, which serves as a major source of electricity, the current state of exploitation and utilization of the renewable energy sources in the country is very low, limited largely to pilot and demonstration projects. Solar energy presents considerable potential that can contribute to a large extent to fill the gap of energy needs in Malawi. The solar resource in Malawi has been employed for various applications. Solar water heaters have been developed and are manufactured locally for domestic purposes. The solar resource in Malawi has been employed for various applications. Solar water heaters have been developed and are manufactured locally for domestic purposes. In addition, photovoltaic systems are also finding increasing use for various purposes such as lighting, water pumping, telecommunications repeater stations, refrigeration, and other appropriate applications. Wind energy has been used on a small scale to supply water for both livestock and irrigation in Malawi. Although there is a dearth of information on the wind energy characteristics of the country, it seems the wind speeds are moderate to low, typically in the range of 2.0 – 7.0 meters/second. Preliminary results from studies conducted by Malawi¡¯s Meteorological Department suggest that the wind resource in Malawi cannot contribute significantly to a firm power generation; and that low speed aero generators could be operated for various applications such as milling of grains, pumping water and even lighting purposes in small remote villages around Malawi. It is particularly suited to water pumping as intermittent wind could still supply the needs when an adequate storage facility is incorporated. However, such assertion is contrasted by recent research findings which indicate that there is considerable potential for wind in the country. Biomass in the form of wood fuel is the largest form of primary energy consumed in Malawi, accounting for 97% of the total primary energy supply in the country. Major sources of biomass available include fuelwood and forestry residues, agricultural residues, animal dung, energy crops and municipal wastes. Forest reserves are the main sources of fuelwood and contribute nearly 75% of the total biomass supply. Geothermal energy has been extensively used for power generation and direct power applications in many countries of the world. The country is endowed with significant potential reserves of geothermal energy. There are approximately 55 geothermal spots in Malawi. As for geothermal projects, some studies have been conducted to design a prototype Geothermal Power Plant for producing electricity. One of the ongoing related projects is a 30 MW Geothermal Power Plant at exploring stage in Nkhotakota, to be upgraded to 100 MW depending on the results of exploration drilling. Despite these options, there are several issues facing the energy sector and crucial to economic development. The main energy challenges that face Malawi presently is how to increase energy supplies to meet the needs of its growing population; also significant is the need to repair and upgrade existing infrastructure for non-hydrocarbon energy sources. Meeting these challenges is critical to improving the nation¡¯s economy and raising the standard of living in Malawi. There is considerable opportunity for Malawi to meet its future demand and thus economic growing through renewable energy. Since renewable energy supply in Malawi is dominated by hydropower and biomass, the share of bioenergy is expected to increases with the expansion of other renewables. There is potential for solar and wind development. The following strategies need to be considered to secure Malawi¡¯s energy supply: Enlarge the use of domestic energy resources through promotion of renewable energy projects such as small hydro power; cogeneration with sugarcane, tea and timber factories, increased use of solar to generate electricity. Continue with the development of Malawi¡¯s power sector by the optimal way, minimizing the environmental impacts and expected investment and operational costs. Accelerate energy conservation and efficiency including development of technical personnel and energy efficient technologies. For future interest, Malawi should pay more attention to the optimization of consumption of energy resources, power system and final energy consumption by the vector objectives, minimizing the cost of energy resources, environmental impact, operating costs and investment costs. Reduce oil dependency by promoting plug-in hybrid engines, increase percentage of ethanol-petrol blend from 20% to higher levels, biofuels (as biodiesel or 100% ethanol) and other technologies. Fiscal incentives such as duty free importation of hybrid vehicles, government procurement of such vehicles for its fleet, and legislation on compulsory blending of fuel are likely to be helpful. References Government of Malawi, 2010b. Energy Demand Assessment for Malawi (Final Report to IAEA). Department of Energy Affairs, Lilongwe. ESCOM, (2011). Annual Report,' Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi, Blantyre. |
