Award of GreenCo Solar PV Pilot Project to Ilute Solar Consortium

On 4th March 2021, GreenCo Power Services Limited (“GreenCo”) invited developers to respond to a Request for Qualification (“RFQ”) in a two-stage competitive tender process to procure its first solar PV project of 10 – 40MW_AC(“Pilot Project”). The RFQ closed on 28th March 2021 with an overwhelming response and subsequently nine (9) projects were qualified to the Request for Proposal stage, which launched on 16th April 2021.  GreenCo is pleased to announce the selection of the winning developer and the award of the tender to develop, engineer, construct and operate a 25MW solar PV generation facility in Sesheke, Western Province of Zambia, to the Ilute Solar PV Project (“Ilute Solar”), a consortium comprising Western Solar Power Limited (formed by Buffalo Energy and the founders of Western Power Company), Serengeti Energy Limited (formerly responsAbility Renewable Energy Holding) and China Energy Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of China Energy Engineering Corporation.

This collaboration between GreenCo and Ilute Solar is yet another milestone in the realization of transformative developments in Zambia’s electricity sector; one that will see the private sector play an increasingly important role in developing new affordable and green power in a commercially and environmentally sustainable manner, through the innovative approach to risk allocation and capital deployment that GreenCo has espoused which reduces reliance on sovereign fiscal support to bring new generation capacity online.

We pay special tribute to Ilute Solar for sharing this vision with GreenCo. Ilute Solar and GreenCo now look forward to implementing the project and are proud to be playing a pioneering role in Zambia’s electricity sector.  We wish to thank the Government of the Republic of Zambia, HRH Senior Chief Inyambo Yeta and the host community in Sesheke District, ZESCO, ERB and other authorities and cooperating partners for continuing to enhance the electricity sector legislation and regulatory framework into a leading position towards liberalization in the region.

We should also like to take this opportunity to thank our investors, namely Denmark’s Investment Fund for Developing Countries and Private Infrastructure Development Group’s InfraCo Africa – organisations whose forward-looking vision is both admirable and a driving force behind sustainable systemic change.  A special thank you also goes to The Rockefeller Foundation, Convergence, SADC PPDF and P4G who have supported the GreenCo business model from its inception.