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Global Energy Alliance for people and planet
Global Energy Alliance’s support for Vietnam and Malawi BESS Global Energy Alliance’s support for battery storage in Vietnam and Malawi illustrates two complementary impact pathways: building policy foundations and delivering infrastructure. In Vietnam, the Alliance partnered with the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Institute of Energy to establish the technical and regulatory groundwork for storage. Catalytic grants supported a frequency regulation study, technical assistance for a BESS pilot, design of a pricing mechanism and development of a national roadmap. We also convened partners including ADB, UNDP and RMI to launch a government-led BESS task force, aligning donor priorities and placing storage firmly on the national agenda. Although financing and regulatory hurdles have delayed deployment, this groundwork has shaped Vietnam’s long-term storage strategy.
In Malawi, Global Energy Alliance is financing the country’s first grid-scale BESS to prove the value of storage in a fragile system. A $20 million grant, paired with $2.4 million in co-financing from ESCOM, is covering the system and its first two years of operation with commissioning expected in mid-2025. We have also committed $850,000 to NREL’s BESS Center of Excellence, providing technical advice and sharing lessons across the region. This flagship investment aims to stabilize Malawi’s grid, expand the use of renewables and generate insights to guide future procurement of storage across sub-Saharan Africa.
Rodney Amos, a Malawian farmer, is discovering how solar power can transform his fields creating a more sustainable and profitable path for agriculture.