Cyclone-Prone Malawi Eyes First Energy Storage to Bolster Grid

(Bloomberg) -- Malawi is building its first battery-energy system, a technology that will help protect its grid from cyclones that have battered the southern African nation in recent years.

The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, a fund that seeks to accelerate the shift to clean energy, is providing up to $20 million for the project, according to a statement Monday. The Malawian government and the state utility ESCOM are also contributing, with the goal of completing the system sometime next year.

The project will back up power for households and businesses connected to the grid in the event of outages, such as those experienced after the country was hit by Cyclones Idai in 2019 and Ana in 2022. Last year, Cyclone Freddy left more than 1,000 people dead in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar.

More than 60% of Malawi’s 586 megawatts of installed capacity is from hydropower, according to BloombergNEF. That makes its grid particularly vulnerable to extreme weather. But the country also suffers from a wide energy gap; three-quarters of its 21 million people lack access to power, the statement said.

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