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UAE to aid Zambian solar

UAE THE United Arab Emirates has agreed a deal or in various stages of construction, according
with the government of Zambia in south central to sources.
Africa to help develop a large-scale solar pro- In recent months, with over half of Zambi-
gramme in the landlocked country. ans living below the poverty line and the nation
In a deal signed by officials from Zambia’s ranked as one of the poorest in the world, Zesco
state-owned utility Zesco and the Abu Dha- has been imposing a daily ration on electricity
bi-based Masdar, a government-owned renew- supplies.
able energy firm, the project will be worth in the This came about following a substantial drop
region of $2bn, according to Zambian President in water levels at Lake Kariba, the world’s largest
Hakainde Hichilema, who spoke after the agree- artificial lake in the south of the country on the
ment had been signed last week. border with Zimbabwe.
The resulting joint venture, one of the first to As a result, this led to reduced hydropower
investigate renewables infrastructure on a large output at the Zambian controlled 960-MW
scale in the still developing nation of 19.5mn, will power station on the northern shore of the Kar-
initially focus on solar power to take advantage iba Dam, which is the source of between 75% and
of a nationwide average of almost eight hours 85% of Zambia’s current electricity supply.
of direct sunlight each day accounting for over In response, President Hichilema has said
2,800 hours per year in the capital Lusaka. that “once completed, the projects will result
A number of small-scale facilities including in an additional 2,000 MW of electricity in the
one 34-MW solar plant are already operational country within the next few years.” ™

Week 04 26•January•2023 www. NEWSBASE .com P9