Image: Zambia's Ministry of Energy

Zambia has officially broken ground on the 100 MW Chipata West solar project, which is set to deliver clean electricity to rural communities.

The project is being developed by Zambian national power utility ZESCO in partnership with private sector players, including China Machinery Engineering Corp. According to a statement from ZESCO, construction is expected to be completed within 12 months.

Chipata West follows the commissioning of the 100 MW Chisama solar farm in May, currently the largest solar project in Zambia.

The Ministry of Energy has outlined an ambitious target of deploying 1 GW of utility-scale solar across the country, with more than ten projects now under development.