Excellent new report on community energy systems in Malawi

Our Malawi team have recently published a new report that provides an overview of community systems in Malawi.

Malawi has a low national electrification rate and the majority of Malawians use biomass for cooking. The Malawi National Energy policy supports the implementation of various energy systems - including solar, wind, and small hydro power - which involve communities in community energy planning and implementation with an aim of increasing access to clean and affordable energy for the low-income households. A number of energy system implemented across Malawi have helped and proved to reduce energy challenges faced by eradicating energy poverty in various rural communities. These energy systems have provided feasible energy options for low-income households through the energy kiosks and minigrids. These implementation experiences have fostered a view that community energy systems will foster an energy transition from the traditional biomass use to other clean and sustainable energy options.

This fantastic open access resource provides an overview of various energy systems implemented by different organisations across Malawi, which are locally managed by communities. The data used in this paper was collected through interviews, project presentations from project developers, and online literature.  

If you would like to read more on the context of Malawi and developments, visit the Malawi web-page. 

Photo credit: "Participants from Liberia and Malawi at the end of their six-month solar engineering course" by UN Women Gallery is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0