Kazang Solar has been awarded US $1.6m contract for the supply of solar home lighting products to over 7000 off grid households in rural Zambia. The distribution partner of Azuri Technologies in Zambia has acquired the funds through the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF).
The Azuri Quad solar home lighting system consists of a 10 watt solar panel, four bright LED lights, USB port and connectors for mobile phone charging, rechargeable radio, and rechargeable torch. It is also equipped with artificial intelligence that monitors weather conditions and learns customer usage patterns. This is so it is able to adjust output to ensure a full night’s power.
Kazang General Manager Chileshe Chilufya expressed his optimism saying that he was looking forward to getting started. He further added that the project is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). This is under the Renewable Energy and Climate Adaptation Technologies (REACT).
Simon Bransfield-Garth, CEO of Azuri said that the initiative characterizes the Azuri and Kazang approach.
Earlier this year, Azuri Technologies announced the launch of its US $20m off-balance-sheet debt financing program. According to media reports, the initial phase of Azuri’s program would be deployed in Kenya. This, according to a released statement, will work towards the provision of additional financing to the company. Furthermore, it will go towards the supply of its PayGo solar systems to households across the country as per the announcement.
Zambia recently launched the Renewable Energy Feed-in-Tariff (REFiT) strategy. This, according to Mercom reports, is for purposes of providing a framework for the deployment of renewable energy projects of up to 20 MW. According to the report, REFiT seeks to bring 200 MW of renewable energy onto the grid within the next three to five years. This, Mercom added, is with 100 MW going toward solar photovoltaic (PV) and 100 MW going toward small hydropower.
