IFC to consult on 100-MW solar plan in Zambia

The World Bank’s International Finance Corp (IFC) will be consulting the Industrial Development Corporation of Zambia on a plan to deploy 100 MW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in the African country.

As part of a new memorandum of understanding (MoU), the two parties will explore the development of two 50-MW solar farms that would be the nation’s first utility-scale PV projects, IFC said on Tuesday. The plan is for the two facilities to be built on separate sites and developed by different private sector firms. Each of them are expected to be partially owned by a local company.

The two partners will negotiate IFC’s advisory role in the next few weeks. Requests for pre-qualification will be issued to prospective developers within three months.

Zambia is relying heavily on its hydro resources for power generation, but due to the low rainfall over the past year the country is now experiencing a national electricity production deficit of about 560 MW. The addition of solar capacity will help reduce Zambia’s dependence on hydropower and President Edgar Chagwa Lungu has already tasked IDC Zambia to deploy at least 600 MW of this type of parks as soon as possible, IFC said.

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