- Malawi has called for an expression of interest for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of a 10Mw scalable Solar Pv plant to be constructed at Nanjoka in Salima.
- Scope of work for interested bidders includes conducting a feasibility study, designing, supplying, installing and commissioning of the plant.
The Electricity Generation Company (EGENCO) of Malawi has called for an expression of interest for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of a 10Mw scalable Solar Pv plant to be constructed at Nanjoka in Salima. The plant may be scaled up with an additional 10Mw capacity to 20Mw.
The Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) for Malawi published in May 2017 shows the demand forecast for year 2020 exceeding 567MW whilst EGENCO’s installed generation capacity is at 411.6MW (including diesel generators). Although the liberalized electricity market has seen the coming in of other power producers, there remains a capacity deficit in the grid.
This has in recent years been compounded by a combination of climate change and environmental degradation that have caused a substantial reduction in the water levels of Lake Malawi, reducing flows in the Shire River, and ultimately reducing EGENCO’s hydro generation capacity for about four months during the dry seasons.
This signals the urgent need to explore quick non-hydro energy supply options to bolster electricity supply in the Country. It is against this background that EGENCO intends to implement a 10MW Solar Photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation at Nanjoka in Salima.
Scope of work for interested bidders includes conducting a feasibility study, designing, supplying, installing and commissioning of the plant. Arranging auxiliary equipment and associated works here will also be the responsibility of the winner. The project will be designed for implementation in 2 phases of 10 MW each.
The submission deadline is Thursday 7th March, 2019. Tender details link here.
In December it was announced that the 60Mw Salima Solar project was being co-developed by InfraCo Africa, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), and JCM Power.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
