Zambia's power utility, ZESCO Limited, invites expressions of interest from EPC companies for the development of a 7.5MW on-grid solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Kasupe, Lusaka. The project aims to enhance the country's energy mix, leveraging renewable sources, with construction set to commence in Q2 2024.
Zambia has five large power stations, of which four are hydroelectric and one is thermal. A fifth hydroelectric power plant is under construction at Itezhi-Tezhi Dam (120MW) along with a coal powered power station at Maamba (300MW) as of 2015.
The Zambian regulation foresees customs duty and VAT exemptions for most equipment used in renewable energy or battery storage projects. Detailed information is provided in In this section, we discuss the opportunity of battery storage in combination with solar photovoltaics from a financial point of view.
The Zambian government has set a target to increase its installed solar and wind capacity to 600 MW by 2030. However, the current installed capacity for solar photovoltaics is only 90 MWp, indicating significant underutilisation of Zambia's potential in the renewable energy sector.
In March 2022, Chariot Limited of the United Kingdom together with Total Eren of France and Canadian mining giant First Quantum Minerals entered into a partnership to develop a 430MW solar and wind power project in Zambia. ^ Energy Sector Report 2014 (PDF) (Report).
Africa Clean Energy Technical Assistance Facility. (2022). Customs Handbook for Solar PV Products in Zambia. Bloomberg New Energy Finance. (2022, December 6). Lithium-ion Battery Pack Prices Rise for First Time to an Average of $151/kWh.
Zambia has five large power stations, of which four are hydroelectric and one is thermal. A fifth hydroelectric power plant is under construction at Itezhi-Tezhi Dam (120MW) along with a coal powered power station at Maamba (300MW) as of 2015. There are also a number of smaller hydroelectric stations, and eight towns not connected to the national power transmission grid are served by diesel generators.