Construction begins on 21MW Nkhotakota Solar Power Project in Malawi

We are delighted to confirm that the first phase of construction for the Nkhotakota Solar Power Project in Malawi was launched last month.  The 21MW solar project is one of Malawi’s first commercial-scale solar IPPs and will eventually supply electricity for up to 150,000 Malawian households.  The project is being developed by ResponsAbility Renewable Energy Holding (rAREH) and Phanes Group, with debt financing provided by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC).

The Nkhotakota project is supported by the Regional Liquidity Support Facility (RLSF), an innovative offtaker payment risk solution facility developed by the German Development Bank, KfW, and the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI).  Trinity has advised KfW and ATI in respect of the structuring of the RLSF since the launch of the product in 2017, and continues to support the roll-out and implementation of the product. 

The RLSF is currently available to support small and mid-scale renewable energy projects in ATI’s member countries.  It has already been applied to Gigawatt Global’s solar PV project in Burundi, the first private grid-connected solar plant in the country in respect of which Trinity also advised, and a Memoranda of Understanding has been signed between ATI and Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia to allow access to the facility in these countries.

Please contact Kaushik Ray and Jo Sykes for more information.