Power on in Zambia

On March 11, 2019, the Zambian president inaugurated the first solar plant financed and tendered under the Scaling Solar program. The plant, which is fully operational now, will provide 54 megawatts of solar power, making it the country’s first large-scale solar plant.
The Bangweulu project was awarded to NEOEN S.A. / First Solar Inc in May 2016 as part of the first tranche of the WBG’s Scaling Solar program.

Bangweulu in numbers:

• 6.02: tariff in US¢/kWh achieved for the project. The lowest solar tariff in sub-Saharan Africa at the time.
• 25: Number of years the tariff will remain fixed for.
• 39: Million US$ of financing provided by IFC, OPIC, and the IFC-Climate Change Program. This is roughly two-thirds of the total project cost (excluding financing costs) of 56 million US$.
• >27,000: Homes supplied with electricity thanks to Bangweulu, based on average power consumption per capita in Zambia.