Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Electricity
Solar PV is the most researched and currently the most widely used efficient technology to create electricity off-grid.
Several hundreds of installations of so-called “solar panels”, assembled arrays of photovoltaic cells which can transform
daylight into electric energy which is then stored in storage batteries and transformed into can be found in Malawi
already at this day. Most of these installations are in remote areas where grid electricity is not accessible. They are used
either to directly electrify households or community institutions like schools and health clinics, to power water pumps, or
to recharge storage batteries in community electrification stations.
Though the technology has undoubted benefits in terms of its ability to provide useful amounts of electricity for all kinds
of applications from micro-scale lighting and mobile phone charging kits to large scale solar farms, it also brings
alonthere are a range of sustainability issues like the high costs of initial investment and need for regular replacement of
batteries which make up-scaling to many communities unlikely, the limitations of local repair and maintenance which have
proven to lead to failure of many projects as soon as no NGO or contractor company is responsible any more, the
constant dependency on either imports or high-cost contracts with local companies to replace parts, and the limitations
of understanding of the actual technology by communities. Sustainable solutions to these challenges still have to be
found so that donor moneys are not wasted on unsustainable projects.
1 - Solar PV Introduction
2 - Uses of Solar PV
3 - Pros & Cons of
Solar PV
4 - Utilization in Malawi
5 - Solar PV Best Practices
