Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Launches Tender for 50 MW Solar PV Plants

Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) Ltd., the state-owned power company of Zambia, has launched a tender for the development of three solar power plants with a combined capacity of 50 MW. The tender invites independent power producers (IPPs), developers, or financiers to express their interest in the construction and operation of the solar PV plants located in the Southern, Western, and Luapula Provinces of the country

Interested developers and financiers are required to apply for any or all of the three future solar plants by September 02, 2022. ZESCO has announced that the selected developer will hold a 90% share of the facilities, while the remaining 10% would be owned by the public utility. However, ZESCO did not provide any additional details about the proposed projects. 

The expression of interest will be opened in the ZESCO’s Auditorium within the ZESCO Ltd.’s head office premises in Lusaka. After this, the opening of the applications will take place in the presence of developers or their representatives who shall choose to attend.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Zambia has an installed solar power of 96 MW at the end of 2021, with the majority of the installations deployed in 2019 alone. The country has been walking on the path of energy transition through the ‘Scaling Solar’ program and the Zambian REFiT Strategy, an initiative developed with the support of the German investment and development bank, KfW.

The Government of Zambia is looking forward to deploying 500 MW of solar power facilities by the end of 2023, in order to ease the power shortages in the country. The Southern African country currently relies on 2.8 GW of installed power, out of which nearly 85% of electricity is generated from hydropower projects.