These include Grid Africa, a leading Pan-African energy developer and TCL Solar, one of the world’s top photovoltaic technology providers. Together, they will help put cutting-edge distributed energy solutions to work across Zimbabwe and Zambia. This ambitious plan targets the original development of at least 100 megawatts (MW) of distributed energy generation in both countries. It will address the dire energy crisis still ravaging Sub-Saharan Africa today.
The partnership between Grid Africa and TCL Solar couldn’t be launching at a better time, as the region currently grapples with some of the world’s greatest energy crises. TCL Solar is actively deploying sustainable energy solutions to combat these deficits at their source. They provide green options for their two countries. Zambia and Zimbabwe already have robust national transmission networks. This new partnership will help open the door to greater grid access and deployment of these innovative solutions.
Norman Moyo, CEO of Grid Africa voiced the need to embrace new technology to solve the energy crisis. He stated that there are “solutions to the crisis if we embrace new emerging technologies that are immediately available and quick to deploy.” Moyo stressed the unique opportunity we have to change our global energy dependence. He continued, “We can reverse engineer our over-reliance on utilities through the strategic deployment of distributed solutions that harness our existing transmission and distribution architecture.”
Sub-Saharan Africa’s energy future is changing incredibly fast. In Zimbabwe and Zambia, regulatory reforms are opening new channels for distributed energy systems to connect to the grid. This regulatory climate dovetails perfectly with TCL Solar’s mission of getting its solutions deployed rapidly into these markets.
Zambia recently announced plans to resume construction on the Zambia-Tanzania Interconnector Project, which aims to link Zambia’s power grid to East Africa. This recent development underscores the strategic importance of the region’s energy infrastructure. It further matches TCL Solar and Grid Africa’s mission to increase cross-border energy security.
“In partnering with Grid Africa, we are excited to contribute to a sustainable energy future for the region.” – TCL Solar Middle East and Africa
As the partnership continues, both companies plan to replicate successful technological innovations like those in other industries, including telecommunications. Another story Moyo shared was how GSM technology completely changed communication. He encouraged that we take the same approach – the moonshot mentality – to solve our energy security challenges.