5 February 2013: The Global Environmental Facility (GEF), together with the Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO), funded the Shiwang’andu small hydro-power plant (SHP). Resulting from a renewable energy project implemented by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), the plant should benefit over 25,000 people in rural Zambia.

As the first power plant built in Zambia since 1970, the SHP expects to showcase the financial and technical viability of renewable energy in rural areas, where only around 3% of the population has access to electricity. In total, three mini-grids will be constructed, the two others being powered by solar energy and biomass-gasifier. Zambia’s Rural Electrification Authority (REA) and the Coopperbelt Energy Company (CEC) will also co-finance these projects.

According to International Center on Small Hydro Power (ICSHP), the complete project has the goal to install: a small hydropower powered mini-grid (1 MW); 
a biomass-gasifier powered mini-grid (1 MW); and a solar-powered energy mini-grid (36 kW). The inauguration of the SHP was followed by Zambia’s President Michael Sata, who called on UNIDO to expand the use of renewable energy in Zambia. [GEF Press Release] [ICSHP Press Release]