IDC Acting Group CEO Mr Henry Sakala has called for solutions and options that will address the challenges faced by private sector participation in the development of renewable energy projects in Zambia.
Speaking at a technical workshop on “Assessing the role of de-risking instruments in renewable energy investment in Southern Africa” earlier today, Mr Sakala said the solutions and options should address the challenges of bankability and off-taker credibility, renewable energy funding, increased renewable energy projects de-risking instruments, among many other issues to facilitate and increase private sector participation.
Mr Sakala said the IDC has been a key player in renewable energy, and was involved in the establishment of two solar photovoltaic plants – Bangweulu Power Company and Ngonye Power Company – in Lusaka with an aggregate capacity of up to 88MWp.
Further, through one of its subsidiaries, Zambia Power Corporation (ZPC), the IDC is actively implementing a pipeline of Solar PV and Wind projects with a target to deploy an aggregate of 450MW up to 2025.
The two-day workshop is being held at Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka and is organized by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) in conjunction with the IDC, and is part of the research project conducted by SEI in partnership with the SADC Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency and the University of Cape Town, focused on Southern Africa.
It aims at achieving a better understanding of existing instruments to mitigate risk of renewable energy projects and ensure viability and resilience during challenging economic times; identifying what can be done differently and by whom, to make risk mitigation more effective, sustainable; as well as exploring the future of risk mitigation.
