News

Our CESET partners at Addis Abba University in Ethiopia have been busy creating an interactive map that provides information on Malawi's community energy systems (CES) as of 2023. A total of 20 community energy systems based on hydro, solar, wind, and a hybrid of solar and wind have been identified.

In November 2022, the CESET team travelled to Maputo, Mozambique to hold its annual team meeting and visit the proposed site for the co-produced community energy laboratory as part of work package 4. During the visit, the CESET team were invited to attend and present at the first Regional Conference on the Regulatory Framework for Access to Off-grid Energycon the 22^nd and 23^rd November. The conference was organised by The Energy Regulatory Authority (ARENE) and the Dutch Development Organization (SNV) through the BRILHO program.

Last week was the premiere of the new CESET short film “community energy in Malawi: on the ground experiences” as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science at The University of Sheffield. The film was directed by filmmaker Sean Lovell.

Josh Kirshner (University of York) and Chris Hara (Mzuzu University) made site visits to several community energy projects in central and southern Malawi in late September 2022, speaking with project directors, managers and local residents.

On 4th of October CESET researcher Dr. Hita Unnikrishnan was invited to deliver a seminar at the Department of Environment and Geography in the University of York. 

During our visit to Malawi in April 2022, the CESET team heard presentations from community energy projects - one of which was deleivered by Edgar Bayani of the community energy Malawi (Sitolo Solar PV Minigrid). This was an 80KWh minigrid funded by the Scottish Government in the Malawian village of Sitolo Village in Mchinji District.

In 2022 the CESET team had its first face to face meeting in Malawi hosted by Mzuzu University. The CESET team took a field trip to Chipopoma Hydro Mini-grid project - a 53 kW mini-grid developed by John Sailence and funded by the UNDP at the Manchewe Falls for the Livingstonia community in Northern Malawi. The grid currently supplies electricity to 85 houses, a school and a milling station, but they planned to expand once they received more funding.

Earlier this year the CESET team travelled to Malawi for its annual CESET meeting hosted by Mzuzu University. Part of this meeting was an opportunity for CESET members to meet delegates from community energy projects and we had a selection of presentations from representatives about their experiences in setting up and operationalizing mini grids in their communities.

Our CESET PI and Vanesa Castán Broto, CESET researcher Hita Unnikrishnan and their colleagues at the Urban Institute have collaborated to produce Chapter 5 on Securing a Greener Urban Futures and also contributed to Chapter 6 on planning.