Bwengu Solar Power Station

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Bwengu Solar Power Station
Bwengu Solar Power Station
Country Malawi
Location Bwengu, Mzimba District, Northern Region
Coordinates 11°03′28″S33°54′58″E / 11.05778°S 33.91611°E / -11.05778; 33.91611
StatusUnder construction
Construction beganFebruary 2022
Commission date (target was) February 2023
Construction costUS$65 million
OwnerBwengu Solar Consortium
OperatorBwegu Solar
Solar farm
Type Flat-panel PV
Power generation
Nameplate capacity 50 MW (67,000 hp)
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The Bwengu Solar Power Station is a 50 megawatt solar power plant, under construction in Bwengu in northern Malawi. The power station is under development by a consortium led by Quantel Renewable Energy, an independent power producer (IPP), based in the United States. Construction began in February 2022. An additional $10m was invested by a Sri Lankan company in 2023. [1] The energy generated at this solar farm was expected to be sold to the Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (ESCOM), under a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA). [2] [3]

Contents

Location

The power station was under construction on 105 hectares (260 acres), in the community of Ulalo Nyirenda, in the town of Bwengu, in the Mzimba District, in Malawi's Northern Region. [2] [3]

Bwengu is located approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) by road northeast of Mzimba, the location of the district headquarters. [4] This is about 54 kilometres (34 mi), by road, northwest of the city of Mzuzu, the regional headquarters. [5] Bwengu lies approximately 409 kilometres (254 mi), by road, north of Lilongwe, the capital city of Malawi. [6]

Overview

The design of the solar farm calls for a generation capacity of 50 megawatts. The power generated here will be evacuated to an ESCOM substation, less than 1 kilometre (1 mi) from the solar farm, where it will be intergraded into the national grid. [3] The off-taker will be Power Market Limited (PML), the sole national bulk electricity transmitter and a component of ESCOM. [7] [8]

Developers

The consortium that owns and is developing this power station, comprises three entities as listed in the table below. The owners are expected to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) company to develop, finance, build, own, operate and maintain the power station. For descriptive purposes, the SPV company is referred to here as Bwengu Solar Consortium. [3]

Shareholders in Bwengu Solar Consortium
RankIPP/developerDomicileNotes
1Quantel Renewable Energy United States [3]
2Frontier Energy Denmark [3]
3Vidullanka Plc Sri Lanka [3]

Other considerations

The Malawian government plans to increase national generation capacity from 532 megawatts in 2022 to 1,000 MW by 2025. Bwengu Solar Power Station helps the country progress towards that goal by providing 50 megawatts of clean renewable energy, reducing the country's carbon dioxide footprint and increasing the country's population with connection to grid electricity. [2] [3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Mwaalimu, Peter (30 June 2023). "50MW Bwengu solar photovoltaic project in Malawi to get US $10M shot in the arm". Constructionreview. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Jean Marie Takouleu (9 February 2022). "Malawi: U.S.-based Quantel launches $65 million solar PV project in Bwengu". Afrik21.africa. Paris, France. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Amanda Saunyama (7 February 2022). "Bwengu Solar PV Power Plant Commences in Malawi". Construction Review Online. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  4. ↑ "Road Distance Between Mzimba, Malawi And Bwengu, Malawi With Map" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  5. ↑ "Road Distance Between Bwengu, Malawi And Mzuzu, Malawi With Map" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  6. ↑ "Road Distance Between Bwengu, Malawi and Lilongwe, Malawi With Map" (Map). Google Maps . Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  7. ↑ Watipaso Mzungu and Tiwonge Kumwenda Mhango (3 February 2022). "Bwengu Solar Photovoltaic Project To Add 50MW To National Grid". Nyasa Times . Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  8. ↑ Osman Faiti (25 April 2020). "Malawi Govt Split Escom Again, Forms Power Market Limited" (via AllAfrica.com). Nyasa Times . Retrieved 2 March 2022.
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