NEWS

Globeleq, one of Africa's leading independent power producers, has reached financial close on the Kafue Solar Project, a 40 MWac (56 MWp) solar photovoltaic power plant near Kafue Town, Lusaka Province, Zambia.

The project was awarded through the GET FiT Zambia Programme and will sell its power to ZESCO under a 25-year power purchase agreement. The GET FiT initiative, led by Zambia's Ministry of Energy in collaboration with the German Development Bank (KfW), aims to catalyse private sector investment in small and medium-scale renewable energy projects.

Globeleq is the sole owner of the project and will manage construction, asset management, and operations & maintenance. Long-term project finance was provided by FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, and British International Investment (BII), which together committed USD 52.1 million, including USD 24.5 million from BII and USD 27.6 million from FMO, with Standard Bank South Africa acting as security trustee. The project also benefits from a grant facility from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation to fund a portion of the grid connection works and certain upgrade works at ZESCO's Kafue Town substation. Solarcentury Africa was appointed by Globeleq as technical development partner and provided technical expertise in support of the project's development led by Globeleq. It has subsequently been appointed as EPC contractor in consortium with Alensy Energy Solutions Zambia.

Once in operation, Kafue Solar is expected to provide clean energy to 38,000 households, avoiding approximately 48,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The project will create around 200 employment opportunities for local Zambians during peak construction and, once operational, will provide a range of long-term job opportunities.