GET FiT scheme launched in Zambia after successful run in Uganda

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At the Intercontinental Hotel in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, the GET FiT Zambian program today hosted its official launch.

GET FiT Zambia is the official name for the implementation of a renewable feed in tariff (FIT) strategy in Zambia, named the Zambian Renewable Energy FiT (REFiT), and which was officially launched in October 2017 by the Ministry of Energy.

REFiT provides an allocation of 200 MW to small- and medium-scale renewable energy projects up to a maximum size of 20 MW. Eligible renewables include solar PV, hydro, geothermal, biomass, waste energy and wind power.

The program aims to facilitate and increase investment in the Zambian private power sector, while helping to alleviate power constraints in Zambia; helping the country become a regional electricity center in the future. More than 250 power developers and investors looking to invest in renewable energy were at the launch event.

GET FiT is the sum of several components: A standardized set of bankable legal documents developed with Zambian stakeholders; risk mitigation and financing support; and technical assistance ranging from input on solar PV grid integration to procurement support.

The reported launch was focused primarily on the first round of GET FiT Zambia, a solar PV tender of up to 100 MW. KfW’s Stephan Neu chaired the event, with keynote remarks being delivered both by the German ambassador, Achim Burkart, and the Zambian Minister of Energy, David Mabumba

After the success of the GET FiT Uganda program, GET FiT Zambia received a funding pledge of €31 million ($37.9 million) from the German government, using the Ugandan model as a template. The program is part of a partnership between the Ministry of Energy and the German development bank (KfW). Other key partners include ZESCO and the Energy Regulatory Board.

Zambia’s portfolio of renewable energy continues to grow with both this project and the recently announced project by India’s Sterling and Wilson to build a 54.3 MW solar plant in Zambia, which will be the nations’ largest. The Zambian government has pledged to develop 500 MW of solar PV over the next few years.

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