In line with its strategy to address the gap in Africa’s renewable energy sector, the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) has supported the financing of the Golomoti solar PV, a 20MW solar power plant in Malawi
Golomoti Solar is the fourth project to benefit from RLSF Cover which was created to help tackle climate change and attract additional investments by supporting renewable energy projects in ATI’s member countries.
In addition to Golomoti Solar, RLSF has enabled projects with a total installed capacity of 108.5MW to achieve financial close – a key milestone as the projects get closer to connecting to the grid. The other projects that have benefited from RLSF cover are the 7.5MW Mubuga solar PV in Burundi, the 21MW Nkhotakota and 60MW Salima solar PVs in Malawi.
Golomoti Solar was jointly developed by JCM Power Corporation, a Canadian clean energy IPP and InfraCo Africa Limited, part of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). Construction funding was provided by JCM Power and InfraCo Africa. The electricity generated by the power plant will be sold exclusively to the Malawian national power utility, ESCOM, under the terms of a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
With support from Innovate UK, Golomoti Solar will include a five MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) – the first commercial-scale solar PV plant in Malawi to include battery storage.
The project has benefited from knowledge-sharing with its sister project, Salima Solar, with both projects being beneficiaries of the evolving regulatory framework within Malawi that has made it possible for the advancement of such renewable energy projects.
