Mpatamanga Hydroelectric Power Station

The Mpatamanga Hydro Power Project, is a 361MW hydroelectric generating project under developpement at Mpatamanga on the Shire River, in Malawi

The project will comprise the Main Power Station and the Regulating Dam Power Station. Mpatamanga Hydro Power Limited (MHPL), a Special Purpose Vehicle, has been established for purposes of the Project which will sell 100% of its production to Malawi’s national utility, ESCOM, as Offtaker under a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”).

The project will assist the Government of Malawi to meet existing power demand during both peak and off-peak periods, becoming the main source of generation.

The Mpatamanga Hydropower Project will not only double the installed capacity of hydropower in Malawi, but also improve the power supply security, provide opportunities for increased renewable energy generation capacity in the country and contribute to the controlling of the flow of the Shire River downstream the power plant

Mpatamanga will deliver electricity to approximately two million people and save 520,000 tons of CO2  emissions per year. The project is expected to contribute to reducing energy shortages and enhancing energy security in Malawi.

Location
The power station will be located at Mpatamanga, on the Shire River, in Blantyre District, in the Southern Region of Malawi. This is approximately 53 km, by road, north-west of the city of Blantyre, the financial capital and largest city in the country. The coordinates of the village of Mpatamanga are: 15°43'11.0"S, 34°43'35.0"E (Latitude:-15.719722; Longitude:34.726389).

Overview
The 361-megawatt (MW) facility will be a first-of-its-kind in Malawi and the generation facility will be composed of two plants. The main dam will provide flexible generation up to its 309 MW installed capacity. The powerhouse can be used at peak capacity for up to 9 hours per day to meet peak demand. The regulating dam, 7 km downstream, is expected to return the river’s flow to its natural level, minimizing the Environmental & Social (E&S) impacts. 52 MW of additional generation capacity (run-of-the-river) will be built at the regulating dam. The average annual generation is estimated at 1,470 GWh[FO1], out of which 70% is expected to be produced during peak hours, with an average capacity factor of 49%.

The main dam includes a 50 m high Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dam and integrated spillway to create a 19km2/261Mm3 daily storage reservoir (59Mm3 active storage), one diversion tunnel, two 920 meters long headrace tunnels with surge shafts and underground penstocks and a surface powerhouse with four vertical Francis turbines. The regulating dam includes a 35 m high concrete dam and spillway, creating a regulating reservoir with 8.2 Mm3 active storage and a low head surface powerhouse integrated within the dam with 2 horizontal bulb turbines.

The interconnection comprises: i) building a 400 kV double-circuit transmission line of 64 km; and ii)  a 132 kV double-circuit 11.4 km transmission line loop-in / loop-out from RD power station switchyard to existing 132 kV line Tedzani / Kapichira.

Timeline
Technical studies are currently underway to inform the final engineering design of the Mpatamanga Hydro Power Plant. These are: Hydrology studies; Climate change study; Topography/bathymetry/light detection and ranging (LIDAR) investigations; Sediment studies; and Geophysical and geotechnical studies.

Construction of access roads is planned to be undertaken from 2025. A four-year construction schedule has been estimated for the Project, starting in 2026. The powerstations’ commissioning should take place in late 2029.

Developments
The Mpatamanga Hydro Power Project is co-developed by SN Malawi BV (“Scatec”) and EDF International, Electricity Generation Company (Malawi) Limited (“EGENCO”) and IFC thru a Private Public Partnership. This entails the development, design, financing, construction, commissioning, ownership, operation and maintenance of the hydroelectric generating project of 361MW capacity at Mpatamanga on the Shire River, in Malawi, and to develop, design, finance, construct and handover the Transmission Infrastructure.

Mpatamanga Hydro Power Limited (MHPL), a Special Purpose Vehicle has been established for purposes of the Project which will sell 100% of its production to Malawi’s national utility, ESCOM, as Offtaker under a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”).

the consortium developing this power station was announced to include the following entities as illustrated in the table below.