Empowering impactful development across rural Malawi through clean Energy HUBs

Partners: Steama Company

Country: Malawi

Technology: Smart green grids including mini and main grid technologies

Stage: Late

Stage: Round 10

Malawi’s installed solar energy systems succumb to operation and maintenance (O&M) shortcomings. Many installations are not taken care of and stop functioning after just 2-3 years despite a technical lifetime of 15-20 years.

Differ Community Power provides reliable energy services to schools and health facilities. In Malawi, Differ Community Power with SteamaCo has more than 100 sites in operation, and at all these sites, there is excess energy. This project seeks to use this energy to solve some of Malawi’s challenges around lack of school completion, unemployment and energy access. This project will sell excess electricity services to off-takers for cooling as a service for agriculture proceeds, energy for households and milling services for farmers. The project also provides earning opportunities for specialists to maintain the solar energy systems at the health facilities.