According to EnergyTrend, on January 28, LONGi Green Energy, in partnership with Sino Green Technology, officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Zambian government. The three parties will jointly develop a photovoltaic project in Zambia with a total capacity of 1GW.
Pursuant to the agreement, the signed project will be implemented in a phased approach with a pilot project first launched. The first phase will kick off a 100MW photovoltaic power plant pilot project, which is located in the Itezhi-Tezhi region of Zambia. The construction is scheduled to commence in April 2026, with an expected construction period of 8 to 10 months.
As a key player in Africa’s energy market, Zambia has long been plagued by a single energy structure. The country’s power supply was highly reliant on hydropower, and the power shortage issue has constrained the development of its core industries such as mining and agriculture. Meanwhile, Zambia boasts abundant solar energy resources, endowing it with a natural advantage for the large-scale development of the photovoltaic industry.
In recent years, the Zambian government has identified the photovoltaic industry as a key development priority and rolled out a series of supportive policies and plans. It has explicitly stated that the share of renewable energy (excluding hydropower) in its power mix will rise from 3% in 2023 to 33% by 2030. On the policy front, Zambia offers multiple incentives for photovoltaic investment, including zero tariffs on equipment imports and streamlined approval procedures, which have greatly boosted the enthusiasm of foreign investors.
To date, a number of landmark photovoltaic projects have been commissioned locally, and Chinese-funded enterprises have also made relevant deployments in Zambia’s photovoltaic sector. LONGi’s cooperation this time is also built on a solid market foundation. Data shows that Zambia imported approximately 500MW of photovoltaic modules nationwide in 2025, of which 300MW were supplied by LONGi Green Energy, accounting for a whopping 60% of the total.
In addition to LONGi, the 100MW Chisamba Photovoltaic Power Station constructed by PowerChina was put into operation in June 2025. Sany Silicon Energy has also deployed a number of photovoltaic and energy storage microgrid projects in Zambia, focusing on meeting the stable power supply demands of scenarios such as mining areas.
Source：EnergyTrend