Zesco has opened a tender for an EPC contract for a 7.5 MW on-grid solar plant. The deadline for expressions of interest is Feb. 16, 2024.

The plant will be built in Kasupe, Lusaka province. Zesco owns 35 hectares of unused land in Kasupe, which have been set aside for the development of renewable energy projects.

According to the tender advertisement, Zesco wants to develop smaller distributed PV plants to help the country harness renewable sources of energy, achieve diversification, and enhance the energy mix. The utility's website says it plans to increase its power generation mix with a minimum of 1,800 MW of renewable energy over the next 10 years.

Figures from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) show that Zambia had 96 MW of installed solar power at the end of 2021. The government previously set a target of deploying 500 MW of solar by 2023, in order to ease chronic power shortages.