Zambia Secures $70M Loan from Stanbic Bank to Complete Chisamba 100MW PV Project
Announced back in June 2024, the Chisamba 100 MW PV project appears to finally perceive the light at the end of tunnel. Stank Bank approved a loan of USD 71.5 million to allow the project to be completed. The main breakthrough was the signing of a 13-year Power Purchase Agreement (#PPA) between GreenCo Power Services (Supplier) and First Quantum Minerals (Purchaser) which ensures a steady revenue stream.
The project developer for the Chisamba solar farm is Kariba North Bank Extension Power Corporation (KNBEPC) which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zambia Electricity Supply Company (ZESCO). Based on the arrangement, ZESCO will also be responsible for providing the transmission services.
To ensure stable baseload delivery to FQM, GreenCo will blend energy sources from Chisamba solar farm and the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). Once online, the Chisamba solar farm will reduce the load on the national grid of Zambia, thus allowing energy being redirected to other customers to reduce risk of load-shedding.
“The Chisamba solar farm will contribute to a more climate-resilient, diversified energy mix, aligned with Zambia’s Integrated Resource Plan and international climate commitments.”
Currently, 80% of Zambia’s generation capacity comes from hydropower. Due to prevailing adverse climatic conditions, the hydropower production has dropped down and remains unpredictable. It is estimated that Zambia would need another 1 GW of power which is stable and affordable in order to support its mining and processing needs.
This innovative arrangement demonstrates how a private offtake agreement can unlock large-scale funding and derisk project development without resorting to traditional sovereign guarantees or other government concessions. Under these conditions, Stanbic Bank is thus willing to provide financing to KNBEPC.
In this way, ZESCO is not assuming any direct financial obligations while the country benefits from an additional 100 MW of generation capacity from a renewable source. In addition, ZESCO will also generate revenue from transmission services through a Use-of-System Agreement with GreenCo.
GreenCo’s ability to provide liquidity and absorb price volatility finally convinced the partners to go ahead with the project. The Public-Private Partnership (#PPP) makes the project bankable by ensuring solvability and certainty.
Power China was selected to carry out the implementation and works are in progress. A 106-hectare plot of land has cleared for the installation of the PV panels. If all goes well, the solar farm is expected to be come online soon.
In addition to the Chisamba plant, the Government of Zambia also announced the Cooma 50 MW developed by YEO Energi and GEI Power. In February 2025, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Kabwe 100 MW solar farm also took place.