World Bank to mobilise US$25m for solar project

Tue, 13 Feb 2018 09:52:40 +0000

By MAILESI BANDA

THE World Bank says it will mobilise about US$25m for the construction of a 75.7 megawatts solar energy plant through the scaling solar project.

And the bank has advised Government to diversify its electricity generation resources to prepare for climate variations.

According to the World Bank Zambian project profile report, the dominance of hydro power generation in the country’s generation mix, makes it valuable to climate variations.

The report notes that the situation between 2014 and 2016 when the country experienced low electricity shortage on account of lower than expected rain should serve as a lesson to the country.

The bank notes that due to Zambia’s geographical position and the relatively high solar radiation through much of the year the country has substantial potential for integrating solar energy into the electricity generation mix.

In Zambia large scale solar plants are complementary to existing and future hydro power plants through the conservation of water in the country’s main reservoirs during periods of sunlight and utilising banked energy when the solar plant are unable to generate.

Zambia was the first country to implement the scaling solar project. The project brings together services and instruments under a single engagement aimed at creating viable markets for grid connected power plants.

The project is an open competitive and transparent approach that facilitates the rapid development of privately owned utility scale solar projects in sub Saharan Africa. Through a cascade approach scaling solar crowds in private financing and public financing is used to provide guarantees.

The World Bank announced that as part of the Government’s plans to procure 600MW of solar energy, a further round of the scaling solar is planned for at least 200MW of capacity.