ZAMBIA is considering building a $900m coal-fired power plant as the country battles unprecedented electricity shortages, said Bloomberg News.
The worst regional dry spell in more than a century has stricken hydro-electricity generation that accounts for 85% of Zambia’s supply, with households and businesses enduring outages lasting more than a day at a time, said the newswire.
Zambia is considering alternatives to hydropower after businesses including Wonderful Group of Companies proposed using coal to fuel electricity generation. The Chinese-owned firm plans a 600-megawatt plant, said Bloomberg News.
Zambia has previously approved the construction of only three power coal-fired power plants — two of them this year.
“Every company knows the impact that climate change had this year because of the extensive drought,” Frank Mulenga, chief operations officer at Wonderful Group, said in a meeting with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema Thursday.
At Wonderful, which manufactures ceramic tiles and fertilizer, the power crisis has curbed output by as much as 40%, he said.
