Germany has hinted plans to allocate $34.8 million to help Zambia implement the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff Strategy, which will accelerate the development of renewable energy in the country.
The funding awarded through the German Development Bank – will be allocated to the GET FiT (Global Energy Transfer Feed-in Tariffs)-programme, a project that is designed to assist Zambia promote diversification of the power sector.
The funding is meant to be provided to the GET FiT programme. A project that is designed to assist the Zambian government promotes diversification of the power sector. It is expected to go towards grid integration for some projects, tariff support, and other technical assistance.
GET FiT Zambia- a collaborative programme which is led by the Government and with the support of Zesco Limited, the Energy Regulation Board, KfW, and African Trade Insurance Agency, among others.
Also read:Zambia, UK sign energy Africa partnership deal
Mr Will Pearson, who is the GET FiT Zambia coordinator, said that the development will also result in bringing about 200MW of renewable energy to the grid in the next 5-7 years.
At the just-ended Zambia International Energy and Mining Conference and Exhibition, Mr Pearson said that the REFiT strategy, is awaiting Government approval. He also said that
as soon as the programme is officially launched, KfW is expected to partner with other donors to increase the overall funding.
According to Mr Pearson the programme will also result in the development of 50MW of solar PV plants, which will be developed by the private sector in different parts of the country under an initiative similar to World Bank-supported scaling- up solar programme.
Last year, President Lungu commissioned construction works for the US$1.2 B solar power plants in Lusaka. This was under the auspices of the Industrial Development Corporation and was supported by the World Bank.
Since then Contracts have been awarded to Neoen and Enel to develop 100 MW in the first phase of the scaling- up solar project. A project described by the World Bank president Jim Yong Kim as a perfect example of how public-private partnerships can help in advancing the provision of energy at the price of only US$.06 a KW per hour, which is very low especially here in Africa.
The GET Fit programme will begin with a 50MW solar PV tender and will use a reverse auction which is similar to scaling solar but project developers will choose their own sites subject to grid constraints to be indicated by Zesco.
This programme aims the development of small- to medium-scale independent power producer projects between 1-20MW. Mr Pearson said Subsequent tenders will call for other technologies including biomass, hydro, and geothermal.
