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Swedfund International (Swedfund) and the European Union (EU) have offered finance to carry out environmental and technical feasibility studies for the Malawi-Zambia interconnector, a 330/400kV cross-border transmission line that spans about 184km between Zambia and Malawi.

CFM’s appointment to manage the Southern African Power Pool ’s $1.3bn Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility could free up a decades-long blockage in the development of cross-border transmission infrastructure. How quickly this happens depends on the success of fundraising efforts in the coming months, and the willingness of utilities and finance ministries to make the RTIFF scheme work.

Lotus Resources’ fundraising will help the Australian miner to restart the Kayelekera mine in Malawi, where negotiations for a power purchase agreement and grid connection with Escom continue.

Malawian generator Egenco is seeking a contractor to install 4.5MW of additional turbine capacity and carry out all associated works at run-of-river plant on the Shire River.

Australian junior Globe says it is advancing its project to site a niobium refinery in the Malawian capital and has outlined an ambitious plan to power mining and refining operations with renewable energy.

Commercial operations for the $127m Mozambique-Malawi (Moma) transmission interconnection project has been delayed, a source with knowledge of the project told African Energy. The delay to the Moma link into the Southern Africa Power Pool comes after a previous hold-up from demining complications, while other milestones remain to be met for the long-awaited regional interconnection scheme.

The Armed Forces of Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC) co-ordinator of military operations in North Kivu, Lieutenant General Fall Sikabwe on 16 January announced the launch of joint operations with Southern African Development Community (SADC) forces in eastern DRC, mainly drawn from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi. They will be targeting 23 March Movement (M23) rebels, who are widely believed to be backed by Rwanda.

Lotus’ plan to resume uranium mining at the Kayelekera resource reflects surging spot prices and would provide a much-needed source of income and employment for Malawi, but the restart depends on new power deals with utility state Escom, as well as new finance and offtake agreements.

Miners have intensified uranium extraction and prospecting in Africa over the past two years as market prices surged after a decade of post-Fukushima lows.

Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX)- and London AIM-listed Mkango Resources is planning three solar PV plants at its Songwe Hill mine. The $311m rare earths project has an estimated 18-year life-of-mine.

The Malawi Off-Grid Market Development Fund (OGMDF) – also known as the Ngwee Ngwee Ngwee Fund – has awarded five financing agreements to local privately-held, off-grid solar companies Yellow, Vitalite Group, Zuwa Energy, Green Impact Technologies and StarTimes.

Independent power producer (IPP) Serengeti Energy has commissioned the first phase of its Nkhotakota solar photovoltaic plant in eastern Malawi.

Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed Lindian Resources has confirmed the timeframe for the expected commissioning of its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi. 

ASX-listed miners Lotus Resources and A-Cap Energy plan to create a southern Africa-focused uranium player, with a portfolio including the mothballed Kayelekera mine in Malawi and the undeveloped Letlhakane deposit in Botswana

Malawi is looking to geothermal, wind and solar capacity to diversify its struggling grid and reduce over-reliance on hydroelectric and diesel-fired capacity, while additions of utility-scale battery capacity could also enable more on-grid solar. The government is also looking to tender for 100MW of gas turbine generation, although sources canvassed by African Energy were sceptical about that scheme’s viability – and about Malawi’s ability to deliver projects more generally, writes Marc Howard.