Electricity access options appraisal in Malawi: Dedza district case study

Abstract

An energy audit has been conducted for the Dedza district in Malawi, which required the development and implementation of a multidisciplinary options appraisal methodology involving a literature review; solar, wind and hydro resource assessment; household and business surveys; focus group discussions and expert interviews. A decision making tool was developed to score and rank renewable energy technologies based on defined input criteria. Due to low income levels and limited capacity, small scale, low access, technologies such as pico-solar products were found to have the highest potential for widespread uptake over the district. Other innovative uses of solar energy including solar home systems and productive uses of solar also score highly due to good solar resource in the district, modularity and ease of implementation. Wind and hydro systems are ranked lower due to limited resource and lack of local capacity to implement.