The Zambian energy market is being expanded by a provider of decentralised solar solutions, Distributed Power Africa (DPA), a subsidiary of Econet, a major telecommunications group based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Zambia thus becomes the fifth African country for which DPA supplies equipment.
The company builds solar hybrid systems for companies, which then pay the electricity bills. DPA takes care of the initial investment, including engineering, procurement, installation, monitoring, maintenance, warranties and insurance of the solar system. A solution that requires no investment for the company and allows it to save money while securing its electricity supply.
“We have received tremendous interest from commercial and industrial stakeholders in Zambia, including banks, beverage manufacturers and shopping centres, and we remain focused on providing solar power with lithium-ion battery technology to power businesses efficiently,” says Norman Moyo, DPA’s Managing Director.
With an installed capacity of 450 MWp, the company provides services in Namibia, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Its latest solar power plant was commissioned in December 2019 in Harare. DPA installed a solar system on the roof of the factory of Schweppes Africa Holdings, the local subsidiary of Schweppes, a Swiss soft drink brand. The installation, which required an investment of $2 million to build, has a capacity of 1 MWp.
The company recently signed an agreement with Canadian Solar, a company specializing in the manufacture of photovoltaic panels and components for solar energy. The aim of this partnership is to supply several solar systems with a cumulative capacity of 25 MW to companies in Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Lesotho.
Jean Marie Takouleu