Climate change and plans to grow the mining, manufacturing and agricultural sectors are forcing Zambia to reduce its reliance on hydropower as its primary source of elec tr icit y. The government has announced a plan to achieve universal access to energy for all Zambians by 2030 by bringing additional solar, hydro, geothermal, and thermal energy online.These will make doing business in Zambia more competitive as electricity costs are currently being driven up by charges for imported power.Investment into renewable technologies will be switched on by a $3.7-billion British government partnership to promote clean energy and critical mineral supply.In terms of the agreement, the UK will aim to secure $3.1bn from the private sector for investment in the mining and renewable energy sectors. UK government-backed investments will generate a further $600 million of funding.The partnership dates back to 2019, with the signing of the UK-Zambia Green Growth Compact for collaboration.Additional funding is coming from the Green Climate Fund and the African Development Bank, which are together providing a $154m renewable energy financing framework for Zambia.The framework will deploy alternative energy sources by financing 100-MW renewable energy projects, primarily small-scale solar projects, which are expected to come online by February 2025.Power generation is a largely unexploited market in Zambia. According to a DT Global Europe study, the level of connection to electricity on average is 30% nationwide and only 5% in rural areas.Atlantic Council researchers Maia Sparkman and William Tobin report that “there are notable low-hanging fruits in the development of Zambia’s electricity mix. “While Zambia has the potential to generate 2 300 MW of solar and 3 000 MW of wind, only 76 MW of solar has been installed and no wind power to date.“Recognising the need to diversify Zambia’s energy grid, the government has been working towards securing private sector investment to deploy solar projects throughout the country to close the energy poverty gap”. DT Global is heading up a European Union-backed project to assist public institutions in revising, reinforcing, and further developing policies, as well as institutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks for unlocking the potential of renewable energy and increasing its efficiency throughout the country.The project started in 2018 and is due to be completed in 2023.Funding aimed at providing reliable clean power to remote villages which are off the grid and currently rely mainly on diesel generators is being provided by the United Nations Climate Change Initiative.“Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development” includes projects involving biomass, solar, and mini-hydro that are “appropriate for Zambia”.To date, the project has activated the Shiwang’andu Small Hydropower Plant; constructed a solar mini-grid in Mpanta, which supplies electricity for households and local institutions such as schools, rural health centres, shops, fishing businesses, and the church; and installed a biomass gasifier in Ndola.
