Axian Energy buys majority of 54.3-MWp Zambian solar project

• Axian’s energy arm entered Zambia by acquiring a majority stake in a 54.3-MWp solar farm in Kafue District, marking a strategic Pan-African expansion.

Axian Energy has taken a majority stake in a 54.3-MWp solar farm in Zambia’s Kafue District, planting a flag in a market that is pushing to diversify away from hydropower variability. The investment gives Axian immediate operating scale in Southern Africa and aligns with a regional strategy focused on utility PV complemented by selective storage to improve evening reliability.

The project’s design follows contemporary utility practice: high-efficiency modules, DC/AC sizing for strong annual yield, and plant controllers that provide reactive power and ride-through in line with ZESCO requirements. While storage is not included at day one, preserving substation space and transformer headroom for a future two-to-four-hour battery is prudent—allowing energy shifting into peak hours and fast frequency response as market products mature.

For Zambia, additional daytime solar eases pressure on hydro reservoirs during dry seasons and helps dampen wholesale price spikes. If paired later with batteries, PV output can be shifted into the evening ramp, cutting the need for diesel peakers and improving quality of service for industrial customers along the Lusaka corridor.

Axian’s ownership brings portfolio benefits: unified SCADA and analytics across assets, shared spares and service contracts, and financing scale that lowers the cost of capital. Expect attention to community integration—construction jobs, local procurement, drainage and road upgrades—and environmental safeguards such as species-rich groundcover and buffer plantings to support biodiversity. Clear decommissioning provisions and land-restoration plans are now standard, improving social licence and lender confidence.

Risk remains in interconnection schedules and long-lead electrical gear; early reservations of transformers and protection systems will be key to avoid delays. Post-COD, the first-year focus will be performance stabilization—tracker tuning, cleaning cycles adjusted to dust and rainfall patterns, and thermal scans to spot underperforming strings.

As Southern Africa’s grids modernize and cross-border trade deepens, bankable PV assets with storage optionality are set to become the backbone of new capacity. Axian’s move into Zambia looks like the right project, in the right location, with the right system design to grow into that future.