Power China Breaks Ground on 100 MW Kabwe Solar Project in Zambia
On 1 February 2025, Power China and officials from the Government of Zambia took part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the 100 MW Kabwe solar farm. The kick-off of the project is the culmination of the accord signed by Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema during his official visit to China back in September 2023.
Once completed in about a year, the Kabwe project will be the largest solar farm in Zambia. In addition to #PV panels cumulating 100 MW of capacity, the project involves a 330 kV substation and the construction of HV transmission lines. The energy produced will be able to power up between 30,000 to 50,000 households, easing the load on the national grid.
Recently, Zambia has been facing blackouts and had to implement electricity cuts and rationing in certain parts of the country. The operationalization of this utility-scale PV project will thus contribute to alleviate the load-shedding by increasing generation capacity without harmful #GHG emissions.
Currently, Zambia relies on climate-sensitive hydropower for 85% of its electricity need. Therefore, it is important to diversify the energy mix; solar with storage appears as an environmentally-friendly solution which can take advantage of the plentiful illumination in Zambia.
During the last #FOCAC2024 Summit, Zambia was thus presenting renewable power projects for potential cooperation. In addition to the agreement with Power China, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) and China Datang also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop solar projects in Zambia. In particular, the MoU called for the construction of three solar farms with a total capacity of at least 220 MW by 2026.
The declared aim of the Zambian Government is to reach a national generation capacity of 10 GW. Altogether, Zambia signed MoUs with five Chinese firms interested in upgrading Zambia‘s generation and transmission capacity. Boosting #ElectricityAccess will in turn give new momentum to the country’s mining and manufacturing sectors while bringing great convenience to the people.