Voltalia and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) have signed a mandate to arrange financing for the Dwangwa project in Malawi which would see 55 MW of solar power and 10 MW of storage developed. Under the mandate that was signed, IFC will carry out a due diligence and explore the possibility of funding the project.
The signing took place during a visit by IFC Managing Director, Makhtar Diop, to Voltalia’s headquarters in Paris in February 2023. The meeting was an opportunity to review the joint projects of IFC and Voltalia and to discuss the prospects for further collaboration around renewable energy development in the countries where IFC operates.
The Dwangwa project combines a 55-MW solar power plant with a 10-MW battery storage unit. The electricity would be sold through a 20-year long-term sales contract with the state-owned Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi Ltd, the state-owned power transmission and distribution company.
The innovative project will have a particularly important positive impact on local development: it represents almost 10% of the installed capacity in the country, where less than 15% of the population has a connection to the electricity grid.
“We are very grateful to IFC for supporting us once again. This project is strategic for Malawi and illustrative of the region where access to electricity is particularly difficult. We are proud to deliver on our local development mission with infrastructure that also improves the global environment,” commented Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia.
Malawi has seen a number of deals signed over the past year to bring additional solar resources to the country. In November, AMEA Power signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a 50-MW solar plant in the country. Earlier, in September, the U.S. International Development Corporation (DFC) signed a commitment letter for a $25 million loan to support the Golomoti Solar project, a 20-MW solar photovoltaic power plant and 5MW/10MWh battery energy storage system in southeast Malawi.