CONTENTS AND UPDATES ON THE
MALAWI RENEWABLE ENERGY
STRATEGY
A Presentation Made at the 2017 Cleaner Cooking Camp at Soul
Farm 6th to 7th June,2017.
By:
Thokozani Nelson Malunga.
Of:
The Department of Energy Affairs
PRESENTATION OUTLINE
1.
Background to the Malawi Renewable Energy
Strategy(MRES).
2.
Why a National Renewable Energy Strategy?
3.
Contents of MRES with regard to Cook stoves
4.
Updates and Roadmap up to the Launch of
MRES

The process of formulating MRES started in early 2016
with financial and technical assistance from UNDP and
Scottish government respectively.

The MRES follows on from the development and
publication of our new National Energy Policy (NEP-2017)

The document is also closely linked to Malawi’s
involvement in the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All)
programme and the Government’s commitment to the
UN Global Goals(particularly SDGs`goal 7.

Although the SE4All Action Agenda covers a broader
spectrum of issues in relation to sustainability, the MRES
will be able to act as a working document for delivery of
the high level aims and objectives of the SE4All Action
Agenda specifically in relation to renewable energy.

As well as taking note of the Government’s priorities in
the NEP and the work of the SE4All programme the
strategy draws upon a huge amount of recent and ongoing research across the renewables sector in Malawi
and further afield.

MRES will run up to 2030,with reviews done every five
years from the Date of launching.
WHY A NATIONAL RENEWABLE
ENERGY STRATEGY(MRES)?
While the afore mentioned global and national
development agenda and policies only set out or define
goals, objectives and priorities, the Malawi Renewable
Energy Strategy sets out practical actions for achieving
those specific goals, objectives and priorities. The MRES
thus serves the following purposes:
1. For the Government of Malawi, the MRES will be the
document which is used to set the immediate agenda
for action to promote renewables and improve the
regulatory, fiscal and legal framework for the sector.
2. stakeholders may also use the MRES to look for where
their resources and expertise could assist with the
delivery of specific actions, noting that the document
also identifies key actions which are not yet underway
and which may still require technical assistance and
funding.
CONTENTS OF MRES WITH REGARD
TO COOK STOVES

MRES in its six chapters, talks about Renewable Electricity;
Clean Energy Mini-Grids; Off-Grid Power; Sustainable
Bioenergy (Cleaner/Efficient Cook stoves, Solid Biofuels,
Biogas);Cross Cutting Issues (The Rural Electrification Fund and
Renewable Energy Agency, District Energy Officers, Education
and Information, Transparency and Statistics); and
Coordination, Leadership and Next Steps.

On clean/efficient cookstove,the MRES is maiming the 2020
target of disseminating 2 million cleaner/efficient cook stoves,
as is articulated in the Cook stoves Roadmap 2014.

Further, the MRES do not support or recognise stoves as
sustainable/efficient/cleaner if they have a fuel efficiency of
less than 20%.

The MRES has therefore outlined the following activities to help
in achieving the 2020 Cleaner Cook stoves target:
Support and lead the National Cook stoves Steering
Committee (NCSC) to work towards targets for 2020 and
beyond.
•
An on going activity for Government,NCSC and other
stakeholders
•
The support may take the form of additional funding,
Policy and technical assistance.
2. Promotion and Awareness Raising
•
An on going activity involving the government NCSC and
other stakeholders
•
Includes the annual cleaner cooking camps like the
2016’s and 2017 events
•
Further,NCSC and GoM are developing an ongoing
promotional campaigning for cook stoves to ensure that
the benefits of the cook stoves are communicated clearly
and widely to the Malawians who stand to benefit the
most, often those in rural and hard to reach areas
1.
Capacity Building
• MRES wants GoM ,NGOs and Donors to be including elements
of training and capacity building in their programmes and
projects on cleaner cook stoves.
• Through these trainings and capacity building, local producers
should be taught on how to make stoves which can be sold to
the surrounding area, creating economic activity and the
chance to benefit from stove technologies simultaneously.
4. Fiscal Incentives
•
MRES has taken note that NCSC and other stakeholders have
long campaigned for the removal of VAT and other charges
such as import duty on sustainable stove components.
•
MRES therefore ,advocates for a study led by the NCSC to
look into the impact of VAT removal on consumers and the
uptake of cook stoves, as well as the wider benefits and
losses to Malawi in the short, medium and long term.
•
DIFID has undertaken this noble task, and has procured a
consultant who will start the study soon.
3.
5.
Efficiency Standards
•
The NCSC already have a fuel efficiency standard for
measuring what passes as a sustainable cook stove
in Malawi.
•
In 2017 this standard, along with any other relevant
standards regarding the design and production of
stoves, should be benchmarked and formalised in
order to create proper standards for the production
and sale of cook stoves in the country.
•
When the NCSC has developed a robust standard
the group should work with wider GoM officials, MERA
and MBS to implement an official certification
standard for cook stoves in the country by 2018.
UPDATES AND ROADMAP UP TO THE
LAUNCH OF MRES
1.
2.
MRES Finalisation and Approval Process:
•
MRES was approved early this year,2017.
•
Its launch will take place along side with that of the
National Energy Policy and SE4ALL Action Agenda.
How MRES will be executed?
•
Malawi Government has formed what is called
Malawi Renewable Energy Partnership
Grouping(MREPG).
•
Membership of the MREPG will consist of a range of
stakeholders from across the nation: Government,
agencies, industry, donors, NGOs and civic society
•
The group to be co-chaired and managed by the
Department of Energy Affairs along with a key
stakeholder from the renewables sector.
Roles:
On the overall, the MREPG will oversee the delivery of actions
outlined by MRES,particularly:
•
MREPG will meet quarterly and measure progress against the actions as
well as determining what the next steps are to be able to fully implement
the actions or where new actions need to be identified.
•
The MREGP will be the body responsible for periodic re-drafting of the MRES
as and when required
•
MREPG will coordinate work and resources more strategically as well as
sharing ideas and results.
Other already established groups such as the National Cook stoves Steering
Committee and the emerging DFID Energy Africa group of donors should also
feed into this group and provide updates on progress in their respective
areas.
NB: The first MREGP group meeting is expected to take place in min
Thank you for your attention!!!!!!