The Zambia Electricity Supply Company (ZESCO) has launched a tender to develop and build 50 megawatts of photovoltaic power plants in Zambia's southern, western and Luapula provinces.
The state-owned utility said the selected developer would own 90 per cent of the facility, while ZESCO would hold the remaining 10 per cent. It did not provide any other details about the proposed project. Interested investors have until 2 September to submit their proposals.
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Zambia has an installed solar capacity of 96 MW by the end of 2021, with around 95 MW deployed in 2019 alone. The country has been supporting solar energy through the Expanded Solar Initiative and the Zambia REFiT Strategy, an initiative developed with the support of KfW Development Bank.
The Zambian government aims to deploy 500 MW of solar PV by 2023 to alleviate chronic power shortages. The sub-Saharan country currently relies on 2.8 GW of installed capacity, of which around 85% comes from hydropower. Its share of access to electricity is around 30%.