The Enel group has started construction on the 34 MW1 Ngonye solar PV plant, which is the Group’s first power plant in Zambia.

The PV facility, which is located in Lusaka South Multi-Facility Economic Zone in the country’s south, is part of the World Bank Group’s Scaling Solar programme carried out by Zambia’s Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel’s Global Renewable Energies Division, Enel Green Power, says the start of construction on the Ngonye solar plant is a new milestone in the strengthening of the group’s presence on the African continent.

“Ngonye, with its clean, sustainable and reliable power, will play a significant role in helping Zambia to meet its electrification goals, demonstrating once again that renewable utility-scale power plants are the most effective solution to give access to electricity in the continent,” Cammisecra explains.

The Enel Group will be investing around 40 million US dollars in the construction of Ngonye, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019. Ngonye solar plant, which will be owned by a special purpose vehicle 80%, held by EGP and 20% by IDC, is supported by a 25-year power purchase agreement signed with Zambia’s state owned utility ZESCO.