PowerChina has handed over the 27 MWp / 20 MWac Lunsemfwa Solar PV plant in Zambia's Central Province, grid-connected 26 days ahead of schedule after the completion of engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning. At 27 MWp the project is modest - but it lands amid a striking build-out. AFSIA-tracked data put Zambia at 698.5 MWp of operational utility-scale solar, already second in Southern Africa.

The real story is what is coming. Some 1.46 GW is already under construction and a further 1.3 GW is in financing - enough to push operational capacity past 3.46 GW, more than quadrupling today's base once those projects land. Beyond that, 729 MWp sits at tender stage and 9.61 GW remains in development, bringing Zambia's total pipeline to 13.8 GW - roughly twenty times current installed capacity.

That trajectory would place Zambia among the continent's fastest-growing utility-scale markets, narrowing the long-standing gap with regional leader South Africa. Lunsemfwa's hydro-solar design also signals a market maturing technically, not just expanding in volume, as developers look to pair solar with the country's substantial hydropower base.

Why it matters

For developers and financiers, Zambia is emerging as one of Southern Africa's most active utility-scale markets after South Africa; the depth of the pipeline points to sustained EPC, equipment and financing demand over the coming years, and rewards early positioning on land, grid access and offtake.

Sources: SolarQuarter (04/08/2026), données AFSIA.