Government to build solar power plants in N/western province
Government plans to set up solar power plants in all thermal powered districts in North-western province.
Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) North-western Regional Manager, Isaac Kambangu confirmed that the Ministry of Energy plans to set up solar plants to beef up power in the diesel powered districts.
Mr. Kambangu said the plans are to set up three mega watts station in Kabompo, two mega watts station in Zambezi, Mufumbwe and Mwinilunga districts respectively and one mega watt in Chavuma district.
He said ZESCO was very much in support of the project because it will enable the electricity company to supply power to its customers in the districts on a 24 hour basis.He said the current scenario is that ZESCO cuts electricity supply at mid night.
Mr. Kambangu said whatever power will be generated from the solar power plants will be sold to ZESCO which will subsequently supply to customers in the targeted districts.
Meanwhile, Zambezi ZESCO branch manager, Stanley Chikopa told the District Development Coordinating Committee last Friday that the contractor has since visited at the solar power plants construction site.
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Progress!!!
o/ \o
Good but they need universities too.
This is what we need to see happening; power has to be provided to all.
Indeed.
cheaper energy at last twakwata! Will be there soon to help out fight power deficit problem! Develop Zambia Develop!!
good but the govt removed our rural hardship allowance and they are removing pension…….where do they want to take our hard earned money we worked for all our lives.
We also use all the mountains of garbage in our country to produce energy as well, capture the methane gas and generate electricity.
The technology to do so is available
In fact this is being done on a by Sonnenberg Arhtur proprietor of Zambezi Nkuku in Livingstone.
Shisunda, yes the tech to generate power from garbage is there and it is simple. I have seen it myself. Depends on steam production which then is used to turn turbines. The question is where will the garbage come from to sustain the plants? It will run for one month and all the garbage will run out. People do not generate that much garbage in Zambia, its just that the garbage that is there has not been collected for 20 years during the MMD misrule.
This is another lie from useless PF.
Talk is cheap. Do the project first then talk!!
when we have elections in an area we hear lot of promises Zambians wake up let politicians not ride on you
How did they reach this decision on making solar power plants? I do not think this is the best way of producing electricity? They need to engage several stakeholders before they start spending money on expensive solutions. We are available to help these guys with free advice
National grid was promised to supply Mufumbwe now its solar pannels. Yaba!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good work PF, let the UPND chaps continue complaining. We are on the right track.
that sounds good
Other companies struggle to get customers and spend lots money on marketing. Zesco doesn’t need to advertise. They have ready customers actually begging and pleading for power. Instead of supplying the need they advise consumers not to use too much electricity. Is this normal business practice? I think it’s insane to throw money away in this way. Why haven’t they sorted out energy problems up to now? Just what are the obstacles? Was this company set up to make money or is it a non-profit entity? I struggle to understand why they could be such failures for so long!
Ok good news but the story lacks important info like how many mega or kilowatts will be generated by this plant
lets support the PF for the good they will do, but they havent done enough to deserve another term, support them for the good they do as u plan wisely for the new Gov’t, we have changed gov’t blindly i.e UNIP to MMD, MMD to PF. Zambians were CNP for wanting change without a better plan,
THAT’S THE PROBLEM IN ZAMBIA.WE DON’T PLAN.WE TALK TALK THEN THINK LATER AND EVEN OUR THINKING IS CORUPT.HOW DO YOU JUST COME UP WITH A SOLAR POWER STATION IN NORTH WESTERN?I THOUGHT THAT WILL BE DETERMINED BY THE AMOUNT OF DAY SUNSHINE WHICH IS MEASURED WITH A CAMPBELL STOKS RECORDER
.IF I RECALL MY FORM 5 GOEGRAPHY WELL,THE PROVINVE HAS HIGH RAINFALL AS COMPARED TO WESTERN WHICH HAS A DESERT LIKE CONDITION ,IDEAL FOR SUCH.LETS PLAN,CONSULT AND THEN IMPLEMENT .
a solar pannel actually needs the light…we dont necesarily nid the desert conditions for us to have the sunlight
This is another political story meant to hoodwink the people. With this donchi kubeba government people should only believe when the project is up and running.
Sustainable development by PF
MR.KAMBANGU DO YOU NOT MAKE STATEMENTS WHICH YOU WILL NOT IMPLEMENT.WE WERE TOLD THAT POWER WILL BE CONNECTED FROM KASEMPA TO ALL THE DISTRICTS TO THE NATIONAL GRIND.BUSH WAS CLEARED FROM KASEMPA TURN OFF TO ZAMBEZI,NOW YOU ARE TALKING OF SOLAR STATIONS.
WE WERE ALSO CHEATED THAT A MIN HYDRO POWER STATION WILL BE CONSTRUCTED IN KABOMPO BUT WHAT ARE WE HEARING TODAY?
PEOPLE OF NORTH-WESTERN THE TIME IS NOW.
THE LAW OF PHYSICS STATES THAT WHERE THERE IS RESISTANCE,FORCE MUST BE APPLIED AND IF PERSUASION FAILS,THEN VIOLENCE IS THE ANSWER.
CAN WE BENEFIT FROM OUR MINERALS PLEASE.USELESS MPS,CHIEFS AND STAKE HOLDERS.IT IS OUT TIME MY FELLOW YOUTHS.
Long overdue!!
These backwards people don’t need electricity. Why give them electricity, to kill lice? These are just Kaluvales, let them in the dark!
Id!ot..
Mwamba why all this hate?
#smdh. And to think there’s more like you out there with such hate for people based on irrational thought and baseless claims.
Hmm but at what cost? Is it cheaper than diesel?
Diesel is outdated and inefficient…moreover ZESCO operates them at a loss.
…not to mention all the pollution this will cut from the air we breathe. Though solar power should only augment other sources and not be the main source in the area. With mining and population growth plus other likely infrastructure the need for power will soon outpace the power output from solar.
Gk zambia has got a lot of garbage to sustain the project,lusaka is dirty bcos of the same.
i am confused ” set up solar power plants in all thermal powered districts…”
then it is ”… solar plants to beef up power in the diesel powered districts….”
It is long overdue in a country with almost 3651/4 days of sunshine in every year.Though initially expensive,this alternative energy should be a better option coupled with bio-power energy.Simple bio digesters can be constructed to produce energy enough for cooking and even lighting from ever available bio waste.We should seriously be considering alternative energies to reduce deforestation and power cuts currently being experienced.
THATS THE WAY TO GO. ITS LONG OVERDUE. LET US ALSO UTILISE WIND POWER TO GENERATE ELECTRICITY. BA CHITUNDU ADVOCATE FOR A COMPETENT RESEARCH TEAM OF YOUR CALIBRE AND THE CLIVES THAT WE BE COME THE HUB OF POWER ENERGY IN AFRICA
Hmm, okay. What happened to the Kabompo Gorge dam that was supposed to output 34 MW of power? Can anyone dig up updates on these projects: http://www.africagoodnews.com/infrastructure/energy/2237-zambian-hydro-projects-in-full-swing.html
i myself do not think set up solar plant is a solution even close to northwestern part. Northwestern is in boundary with other nations, what we need there is normal and steady supply. ZAMBIA must truely put its national interest first, and should be like nothing else matters, but Zambia. I support solar energy and big time, we need to be energy efficient truely to manage the immediate quagmire