By BRIAN HATYOKA –
SOME investors from the United States of America (USA) and United Kingdom (UK) have expressed interest in setting up two separate solar power plants with a capacity to generate 1,000 megawatts (MW) in Livingstone.
The investors, who have approached the National Heritage Conservation Commission (NHCC) over the matter, want to set up solar power stations in Senior Chief Mukuni’s chiefdom and Kasiya Ward.
NHCC senior conservation officer Richard Mbewe said the investors from the US were working with their partners in Lusaka to set up a 700MW solar power plant in Kasiya Ward in Zambia’s tourist capital.
Mr Mbewe, who declined to name the investors, said in an interview yesterday that the Kasiya plant would be located within farm number 463.
He disclosed the intentions at a stakeholders’ meeting held at Livingstone Civic Centre with University of Zambia (UNZA) students pursuing a masters degree programme in spatial planning.
Mr Mbewe said the promoters of the project would soon have community sensitisation meetings with the local people as technocrats had already done their assessment.
“We have been visited by people from Lusaka over this solar project, but the proponents of this project are from the United States.
“They run the largest solar power plant in Africa and they already have one in South Africa’s Limpopo. They want to produce 700MW of solar power, which is possible as we have higher sun exposure in Livingstone,” he said.
He said the plant would be put on an already cleared land where housing units for the company would also be built.
“We are very excited as NHCC as such projects will mitigate the impact of Zesco diverting water for power generation from Zambezi River,” Mr Mbewe said.
He also said investors from the UK wanted to set up a 300MW solar power plant in Senior Chief Mukuni’s chiefdom.
“This project has reached an advanced stage as the area has already been identified and cleared,” he said.
Mr Mbewe said the projects would run for one year after which they will channel electricity to the national power grid to mitigate the deficit.