JA Solar Holdings Co., Ltd. (JA Solar) won a contract to supply 100 MW of PV modules to one of the first three large-scale ground-mounted solar power facilities in Zimbabwe. The projects will have a combined installed capacity of 300 MW and the three contractors for these projects are ZTE, China MCC17 Group, and Intratrek Zimbabwe. The power plants will be located in Munyati, Insukamini, and Gwanda.
JA Solar will supply its PV modules to China MCC17 Group for the project it is constructing.
A spokesperson for JA Solar said that the company began negotiations with the Zimbabwe Power Company to supply modules for the Munyati project earlier this year. The spokesman further explained that China MCC17 Group chose JA Solar as their exclusive module supplier after winning the bid to construct the Munyati project.
The three projects involve a total PV module contract value of $544 million, $179 million of which was won by JA Solar. The projects are scheduled to commence construction near late-2016 or early-2017, and are expected to be completed by the end of 2017.
Zimbabwe, like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, faces a severe shortage of electricity. Over the past two years, the Zimbabwean government has sped up the construction of power projects, including the three large-scale ground-mounted PV power plants.
The news of the PV power plants follows a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping’s to Zimbabwe. During the visit both countries agreed to engage in a series of collaborations in multiple sectors, including trade and energy.