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Facility for Action for Climate Empowerment to Achieve Nationally Determined Contributions (FACE-NDC) 

Renewable Energy

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Zambia still has limited access to modern energy, especially in rural areas. As of 2021, only 14 percent of rural households had access to electricity, and 9 percent of the total population had access to clean cooking fuels.

Energy is consumed primarily by households (60 percent), followed by industry (32 percent) and the transport sector (5 percent). 

The country heavily relies on the use of traditional biomass, which accounts for 70 percent of the total energy supply, and 94 percent of the total household consumption, mainly in the form of firewood and charcoal for heating and cooking purposes.

This heavy reliance on traditional biomass has considerable negative effects on health, as well as the environment and climate change, and the extensive use of wood fuel contributes significantly to the high rate of deforestation. Electricity generation in the country is dominated by hydropower.

In 2023, the total electricity installed capacity reached 3.9 GW and electricity generation was 19 535 GWh. Hydropower accounted for 88 percent of the total production, followed by fossil fuels at 11 percent.
Solar energy and bioenergy assumed a very limited role, each representing around 1 percent of the total electricity production.

The Zambian government is currently striving to simultaneously increase access to energy across the country and make its energy use and supply more sustainable. Energy efficiency and renewable energy are mentioned as key targets in the country’s NDCs, as the country aims at diversifying its energy mix and expanding renewable energy production and use.

The FACE-NDC project is strengthening the curriculum, research capacities and laboratory infrastructure of Zambian universities in relation to the interlinkages between climate change, renewable energy and agriculture.
The project will create teaching materials and eLearning courses and build a pool of experts on renewable energy and energy efficiency, who will roll out capacity-building training for vocational teachers and trainers, as well as private and public sector stakeholders.