Malawi Geothermal Potential

Abstract

The Government of Malawi (GoM) through the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy and Mining (MoNREM),received funding from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank to support the implementation of the Malawi Energy Sector Support Project (ESSP). The objective of the project is to increase the reliability and quality of electricity supply in Malawi, since currently the country’s power generation derives almost exclusively from hydro projects exploiting the resources of the Shire River, located in the southern region of the country, and the Wovwe River in the northern region. The ESSP is expected to build capacity in the electricity generation subsector by bringing about diversification in the use of alternative sources of energy for power generation, including the possibility of generating power from wind, solar, thermal (using coal), biomass obtained through sugar, tea and timber processing and from geothermal sources. Regarding the latter potential sources, some 25 sites of geothermal manifestations have been reported in Malawi in the past. This paper gives highlights of current geochemistry and geophysics surveys that have been conducted on geothermal manifestations in Malawi. It also highlights development of human capital working in the geothermal sector.