The Itimpi Solar Power Station is a 60 megawatts

solar power plant A photovoltaic power station, also known as a solar park, solar farm, or solar power plant, is a large-scale grid-connected photovoltaic power system (PV system) designed for the supply of merchant power. They are different from most building ...

in Zambia. The privately owned solar farm was commissioned in April 2024. It was developed and is owned by

Copperbelt Energy Corporation Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc (CEC) is a Zambian electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply company with operations in Zambia and Nigeria. The company is listed on the Lusaka Stock Exchange (symbol: CECZ) Operations Zambia ...

(CEC), through their 100 percent subsidiary CEC Renewables. CEC transmits and distributes the power to its customers in the

Copperbelt Province Copperbelt Province is a province in Zambia which covers the mineral-rich Copperbelt, and farming and bush areas to the south. It was the backbone of the Northern Rhodesian economy during British colonial rule and fuelled the hopes of the imme ...

of Zambia.

Location

The power station is located on a piece of property measuring , approximately , north of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of the city of

Kitwe Kitwe is the third largest city in terms of infrastructure development (after Lusaka and Ndola) and second largest city in terms of size and population (after Lusaka) in Zambia. With a population of 517,543 (''2010 census provisional'') Kitwe is ...

. Kitwe is approximately north of

Lusaka Lusaka ( ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zambia. It is one of the fastest-developing cities in southern Africa. Lusaka is in the southern part of the central plateau at an elevation of about . , the city's population was abo ...

, the national capital.

Overview

This solar farm is the second photovoltaic solar installation in

Kitwe District Kitwe District is a district of Zambia, located in Copperbelt Province. The capital is Kitwe. As of the 2022 Zambian Census, the district had a population of 661,901 people.

, owned by CEC. The other solar power station is the 34 megawatts

Zambia Riverside Solar Power Station The Zambia Riverside Solar Power Station is a 34 megawatts solar power plant in Zambia. The privately owned solar farm was originally commissioned in April 2018, as a 1 MW power station by Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC), who own the energ ...

that was commissioned in 2023. The design calls for a ground-mounted solar panel layout, with 109,144 "

bifacial A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history. It is made from stone, usually flint or chert that has been "reduced" and shaped from a larger piece by kna ...

monocrystalline solar modules" arranged in rows along tracking devices which rotate the modules to maximize exposure to the rays of the sun at all times. The power generated here is fed through 200

inverter A power inverter, inverter, or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the op ...

s and into the CEC electricity grid for transmission and distribution to end-users. The capacity output is planned at 60 MW, with 130 GWh of annual output.

Construction costs and timeline

The construction costs for the power station are reported as US$53 million, funded by a portion of the $200 million

green bond A green bond is a fixed-income financial instrument ( bond) which is used to fund projects that have positive environmental benefits. When referring to climate change mitigation projects they are also known as ''climate bonds''. Green bonds follow ...

listed by CEC on the

Lusaka Stock Exchange The Lusaka Securities Exchange (abbreviated to LuSE) is the principal stock exchange of Zambia and Zambia's designated agency for issuing International Securities Identification Number, International Securities Identification Numbers (ISIN). Founde ...

. In April 2024, the completed 60 MW solar farm was officially commissioned by

Hakainde Hichilema Hakainde Hichilema (born 4 June 1962), often known by his initials HH, is a Zambian businessman, farmer, and politician who is the seventh and current president of Zambia since 24 August 2021. After having contested five previous elections in ...

, the Zambian Head of State. During construction an estimated 1,200+ skilled and unskilled jobs were created.

Other considerations

As of April 2024, Zambia had installed generation capacity of 3,030 MW, of which 2,393 MW (79 percent) was derived from hydroelectric sources. Due to severe drought in the sub-region in recent months, the river levels are low and Zambian electricity output is low. As of February 2024, Zambia was grappling with a 500 MW deficit in electricity supply. This solar farm helps to partially mitigate that shortage.

References

External links