- The African Development Bank has approved a financing package of 14.54 million dollars to support the Garneton North 20MW solar project in Zambia’s Copperbelt Province.
The financing includes 7.27 million dollars from the Bank’s own resources, matched by concessional funding from a Development Finance Institution. This move underscores a strong commitment to closing Zambia’s energy gap and advancing the Mission 300 goal, which aims to provide electricity access to 300 million Africans by the year 2030. Zambia was among the first countries to launch national energy compacts under Mission 300 in January 2025.
The total cost of the project is 24.5 million dollars. It will involve the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the solar plant, which will be connected to the national grid via a 10km, 33 kilovolt power line. Under a 25-year take-or-pay Power Purchase Agreement, the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited will purchase all electricity generated by the plant.
According to Wale Shonibare, Director of Energy Financial Solutions, Policy, and Regulation at the African Development Bank, the project represents a key milestone in Zambia’s efforts to restore confidence in its power sector, attract private investment, and make progress toward closing the energy gap and achieving Mission 300 objectives.
The Garneton North solar project is one of six selected by the Zambian government under the Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariffs programme (GETFit) which has struggled for many years to reach financial close. Read more
This initiative is designed to unlock private-sector investment in small and medium-scale renewable energy independent power projects across the country.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
