- GET FiT Zambia spurs momentum by calling for suitable land opportunities for Solar PV projects.
- The call comes after the country recently announced shortlisted bidders for Round 1 which includes projects up to 20Mw with a total capacity of 100Mw.
- The first round tender is part of the GET FIT Zambia Program in partnership with the Ministry of Energy of Zambia
GET FiT Zambia continues to invite interested landholders in Zambia to submit site information for a pool of potential solar PV project sites. This pool will be made accessible to shortlisted applicants who may engage with contacts provided for the proposed project sites if they wish.
Landowners, who believe their land may be a possible site for a utility-scale solar PV project, are requested to make a submission to solar@getfit-zambia.org. The following information must be provided in the submission:
- Nearest city, town, village to the site
- Name and voltage level of nearest ZESCO substation (including distance)
- GPS coordinates of the site
- Size of available land
- Contact name
- Contact details (Email, Phone)
The call is in line with all shortlisted bidders under Round 1 who had to subject their land sites to an Interim Rapid Grid Assessment to check whether power can be evacuated from these sites without major ZESCO investment required. Some shortlisted bidders will have to submit new sites and the call is to give landowners in Zambia a chance to put forward suitable land sites for review.
A shadow has been cast over Zambia’s renewable energy program by Nomura, a large Japanese finance house, who has raised questions regarding the Zambian governments’ stated debt. There is widespread speculation that the government has been concealing more than half of their short-term external debt, or miscalculated it.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
