Zambia’s power utility giant ZESCO Limited have signed an Engineering Procurement and Construction EPC deal that comes with financing from PowerChina worth US$548 million to develop 600MW (AC) grid connected Solar Photovoltaic – PV Power Plants.
The construction is expected to begin this year while the duration period to commence full production is projected to take from 12 to 18 months.
The three plants would be located in three provinces that include Central province -Chibombo, Lusaka Province – Chirundu and Southern Province – Siavonga Districts. The three-grid connected Solar PV projects will have a capacity of 200MW each.
ZESCO Managing Director Victor Mundende says the signing of the three contracts is historic for ZESCO and Zambia as a whole, as it is a significant step towards diversifying renewable energy development in power generation.
In a statement made available to the Zambian Business Times – ZBT on May 20, 2020, Mundende said that the project, will among several benefits, greatly profit the over one million current and potential customers by increasing access to reliable electricity, enhance industrial development and create employment opportunities to local people.
He urged Power China to ensure that the plant technology takes advantage of the tremendous technologies that are continually improving on the market.He further urged Power China to expedite the works on time with due care to quality, performance, and safety.
And PowerChina authorized representative Wang Junzhou said his company was proud to partner with ZESCO in the provision of clean energy which will contribute to optimizing power structure, grid stability and the economy.
According to an Energy Regulation Board – ERB report, Zambia’s power generation mix has been heavily skewed towards hydro power which commands over 80% of the total power generated in Zambia. With climate change effects such as drought, Zambia has experienced load shedding partly due to over dependence on hydro power generation.
