Firewood usage as cooking fuel in a typical household at Sitolo (image credit: H. Vallecha)
Mthembanji Solar PV installation (image credit: H. Vallecha)
Village women cooking their meals on charcoal stove (image credit: H. Vallecha)
Women watering their fields through Direct Solar Pump (image credit: H. Vallecha)
Featured image, top: Sitolo solar PV power plant, Sitolo, Mchinji (image credit: H. Vallecha)
Malawi is one of the least electrified countries in the world. Only 18% of Malawi''s 18.14 million inhabitants have access to electricity (11.4% provided by the grid network; 6.6% provided through off-grid energy solutions).
The Africa Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Ahunna Eziakonwa says she is impressed with the impact that the Sitolo Solar Mini-Grid has had at Sitolo in Mchinji where solar electricity is powering maize mills and enabling people to open up various business.
Eziakonwa who is on four-day visit in Malawi, toured the 80 kilowatt solar mini-grid at Sitolo Village in Traditional Authority Ndawambe in Mchinji on Monday.
The mini-grid generates power via solar and connects 816 customers, including houses as well as 94 businesses and social institutions such as schools and health facilities at Sitolo, Ndawambe and Molosiyo villages.
Electricity from the mini-grid has enabled people in the villages to open businesses including maize mills, salons and shops which sell cold drinks.
With the electricity, people are also able to cook using electric stoves while learners study even during the night.
One of the community members Annie Nyedwa said she shas benefited a lot from the solar power since the mini-grid was commissioned in 2019.
According to Nyedwa, after selling farm produce in 2020 she bought a fridge and started making ice pops. By 2022, she had bought another fridge, built shops which she rents out and purchased three motorcycles.
"Through these businesses, I have been able to pay fees for my children and one of them is now studying at Catholic University. I am really thankful for the electricity in our area," said Nyedwa.
Eziakonwa noted that without electricity, a lot of people are left behind and their development is at a standstill. She said electricity brings decency and dignity.
"We want more partners to come and invest in this affordable, accessible and sustainable energy. This is sustainable energy because we are not polluting the environment so we are killing many birds with one stone and I am very happy to see this work and the impact it has had," said Eziakonwa.
She added that UNDP wants to replicate the solar mini-grids in 18 African countries because the reality is that everyone will not be connected to the national grid immediately and in some countries, governments will only be able to connect some communities to national grids in 15 or 20 years.
"With mini-grids, communities like this can get connections. So, we are spreading this across the continent. We want to bring this sustainable solution to communities because it speaks to what we are about which is sustainable and inclusive development," she said.
Minister of Energy Ibrahim Matola said the administration of President Lazarus Chakwera is looking forward to improving generation, accessibility and reliability of power in Malawi.
The Sitolo mini-grid was constructed with financial and technical support from Government of Malawi, UNDP and Global Environment Facility and it is being operated and managed by Community Energy Malawi.
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