Zambia Wants To Add 2.3MW Of Solar Coupled With A 4.16MWh Battery To Each One Of The Country’s 156 Constituencies

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Zambia’s grid is mostly powered by renewables. 87% of its installed capacity, which now stands at around 3.9GW, is from renewables. In terms of the contribution from renewables to electricity generation, about 93% of the renewable component is from hydro, and 6% from solar. Overall, renewables contributed 89% of the 19,522 GWh generated in 2023, and non-renewables contributed the remaining 11%. The recent issues arising from prolonged dry spells has resulted in dwindling water levels severely affecting Zambia’s main hydropower plants, therefore necessitating the implementation of electricity rationing. Zambia is working to diversify its energy mix and solar has been identified as one of the areas the country can get some quick wins to boost electricity generation. One of the county’s recent flagship projects is the recently commissioned 100MW Chisamba solar PV plant. Zambia now wants to add on to this in a very clever way by introducing more distributed solar plants.

Zambia has just launched an Expression of Interest (EOI) program led by The Zambia National Energy Corporation Limited (ZNEC). ZNEC is a company established to undertake the strategic implementation of the Presidential Constituency Energy Initiative (PCEI). The announcement says, the PCEI shall utilize redirected Constituency Development Fund (CDF) resources, in addition to other sources of funding, to implement constituency-level solar infrastructure, achieving nationwide renewable energy expansion through localized investment. The EOI called on qualifying firms to undertake the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of 2.3MW solar PV power plants with 4MWh Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).

Here is what I love about this program. Through the PCEI, ZNEC aims to deploy renewable energy solutions across all 156 constituencies in Zambia, with an estimated 2 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant per constituency, representing a total target installed capacity of 359 MWp plus 648.96MWh of battery storage. This is a very smart way of adding capacity, as in most cases, it will be very easy to integrate 2MW of capacity without straining the available transmission and distribution network. The battery storage will also help with this along with other grid support services. It is also a win for national development as every single constituency around the country will benefit from this initiative. 

ZCCM Investments Holdings Plc (ZCCM-IH) directly holds 60.0% shares in ZNEC, with the Zambian Government (GRZ) holding the remaining 40.0% through the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MoFNP). Another thing I love is that ZNEC intends to develop solar PV power generation plants at suitable sites within each constituency, utilizing existing substations and connection points, for rapid implementation and localized energy resilience. The PV plant will be integrated to the nearest existing substation or distribution line (11kV or 33kV) within the constituency. The specifications for power evacuation equipment will be site-specific and bidders will be expected to visit sites before bid submission. Total distance from the proposed solar plant site(s) to the point of connection shall not exceed 5 km for 11kV and 33kV networks. This will help lower the costs to integrate these new plants into Zambia’s grid.

Zambia has generally done well with regards to electricity access, with 81% of the population having access to electricity. This new initiative will complement this. This is a great initiative which I feel once completed, could be scaled up to add more of these distributed solar and battery plants to all the country’s constituencies and could be a model for other countries in the South African Development Community to follow, as well as other countries on the African continent and beyond. 

Images courtesy of State House Zambia