[SMM PV News] India’s Solar Cell ALMM Capacity Reaches 29.9 GW Ahead of June Implementation

Copperbelt Energy Corporation (CEC) energized the 136 MW Itimpi II solar plant in Kitwe, currently the largest operational solar asset in Zambia. The $125.8 million project was independently funded through CEC’s $200 million Green Bond, showcasing the strength of local capital markets in financing mega-projects without sovereign debt. Constructed over 14 months, the site created over 2,500 jobs and contracted 15 local firms. With this commissioning, CEC's solar capacity reaches 230 MW, moving toward its goal of 500 MW by 2027 to address power deficits in the mining and industrial sectors.

The Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) and Sunshare Energy signed a $246 million agreement to add 250 MW in the second phase of the Nambala solar plant, bringing the project's total investment to $300 million. Government reforms have significantly streamlined approval timelines, fostering an investor-friendly environment for large-scale projects like Globeleq’s 250 MW solar-plus-storage site. These developments support Zambia’s national target of deploying 1 GW of solar. Current data from AFSIA identifies 977.2 MW of operational solar capacity across the country to date.

On May 12, all four major PV module leaders had sold majority or full equity stakes in their US factories. Jinko Solar announced the sale of 75.1% equity in its US 2GW module factory for $191.5 million. At this point, the US capacity assets of all four major PV module leaders—Jinko, TrinaSolar, JA Solar Technology, and LONGi—had been fully disposed of, primarily in response to the provision in the US One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) that foreign ownership must not exceed 25% to qualify for IRA tax credits.