| Abstract |
Almost 98% of Malawi’s electricity needs are provided by hydropower using Shire River cascaded hydro schemes and Wovwe mini hydro plant which is unreliable as it is prone to siltation and drought which results to low electricity output. Energy supply deficiencies cause interruptions to processes that require energy as an input. About 90% of Malawi’s population use wood and charcoal for fuel. As such, alternative innovative source of energy is needed in order to diversify from existing sources. Geothermal energy offers significant potential in terms of climate change mitigation. Being an indigenous resource, it is reliable, environmentally clean and relatively economically viable, renewable energy resource and a technology that has been underutilized for too long. Malawi Government in MDGS II realizes that a well-developed and efficient energy system is vital for industrial, mining and tourism development and that the diversified use of energy will augment energy supply from hydro power plants and will improve the energy generation mix. Malawi’s location in the active continental divergent zones in the East African Rift System (EARS) holds significant potential for commercially exploitable geothermal resources. Studies by UNEP and GEF indicate that Malawi has a geothermal potential of up to 4000MW, hence the need to develop the energy source. It is against this background that further detailed geothermal exploration and exploitation programs be planned to appraise potential prospects. Geothermal energy would help reduce land degradation and ultimately, mitigating climate change and if it was utilized as an alternative source of energy as it would reduce the reliance on biomass. |