Enel starts construction of 34 MW solar project in Zambia

The Enel Group’s global renewable energies division Enel Green Power (EGP) has started the construction of the 34 MW Ngonye solar PV plant, located in Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone in the south of Zambia.

Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) awarded Enel the right to develop, finance, construct, own and operate the plant in June 2016 as part of the World Bank Group’s Scaling Solar programme. This is the Group's first project in Zambia, requiring an estimated total investment of US$40 million.

In June, the Enel Group signed with IDC a financing agreement of around US$34 million for the construction of the PV plant, involving senior loans from the International Financing Corporation (IFC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The solar plant will be owned by a special purpose vehicle 80% held by EGP and 20% by IDC and is supported by a 25-year power purchase agreement signed with Zambia’s state owned utility ZESCO. Once fully up and running, scheduled for the first quarter of 2019, the facility is expected to produce around 70 GWh per year, avoiding the annual emission of over 45,000 tons of CO₂ into the atmosphere.