Mapping the opportunities and barriers for Smart Local Energy Systems in Malawi

Economic development and social progress in rural areas of Malawi is severely hampered by inadequate electricity supply. Commercial centres and critical infrastructure delivering health and education services need affordable, reliable energy to achieve their desired impact. In practice they are served by a national grid supply that suffers extreme load shedding and must deploy expensive diesel generators or standalone solar PV as backup solutions.
There is a clear need and opportunity for the development of edge-of-grid Smart Local Energy Systems (LES) in Malawi that can optimise the available resources (weak grid, onsite generation, storage and demand flexibility) to improve the reliability and affordability of energy supply to rural ‘anchor’ customers, and possibly extend electricity access to surrounding communities.
This project draws on Scottish/UK LES experience and technology innovation and undertakes a collaborative programme of work with Malawian stakeholders to map the opportunities and barriers to LES in Malawi, laying the foundation for further technical, business model and policy facing research and innovation.