## 1 Introduction  
### Background  
Zambia is in sub-Saharan Africa, where the average population has limited access to electricity and has experienced a severe electricity supply shortage since 2016 [1]. The World Bank indicators show that 44.52% of the people in Zambia have access to electricity [2]. Looking at economic indicators and past historical data of the country, the country is showing slight progress in utilizing its wide range of energy resources to supply electricity. However, there is an urgent need to improve the capacity factor of the power sector to reduce the chronic energy deficit in Zambia.  
Energy-related policy and investing decisions are critical and should consider all possible power supply and demand side options. The energy sector, through its CO\({}_{2}\) emissions, transforming resources into electricity, seems to be the leading contributor to greenhouse gases. Zambia's Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) aims to attain a 25% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 [3]. The country commits to achieving this reduction through domestic efforts and the possibility of international support.  
Electricity generation and consumption in the country contribute approximately 40% of global CO\({}_{2}\) emissions [4]. In Zambia, fuel combustion activities and energy industries present a major environmental hazard. Figure 1 represents the historical contribution of the fossil fuel source to total GHG emissions in Zambia. Annual CO\({}_{2}\) emissions per capita for fossil fuels, specifically oil and coal in Zambia, have sharply increased from 1630 kilotons in 2000 to 6340 kilotons in 2018 [5]. The limited enforcement of sustainable energy transition technologies puts the country at risk of environmental hazards. Zambia is ranked 59 out of 180 countries in the 2021 Global Climate Risk Index and is classified as having a high vulnerability score [6]. In addition, there would be increased electricity demand in Zambia's envisioned future economic activities and population increase. Since most investments are allocated to human capital development, renewable energy project deployment has not yet been effectively hailed as a priority for achieving green growth. Increasing the penetration of variable renewable technologies is one important approach to climate mitigation.  
Zambia showed commitment by complying with the SDG 13 measures set by the United Nations. Zambia concurs with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN-FCCC) on the need to incorporate more efficient forms of renewable energy [5]. To justify the efforts of the clean energy transition, feasibility studies on potential sites to install renewable energy sources that can increase the installed national electricity capacity of Zambia. The proliferation of wind and solar energy in Zambia will help lessen the emissions from industrial processes in the energy sector.  
The yearly Energy Sector Report, which gives an overview of the energy sector in Zambia, has affirmed the power deficits that have been occurring in the country. Figure 2 shows the steady national electricity generation compared to the recorded power deficit in electricity. According to the 2019 Energy Sector Report, one of the reasons for the power deficit was the generation constraints from hydropower stations due to low water levels [7].  
Figure 1: Trends of CO\({}_{2}\) emissions from different fossil fuels (adapted from [5]).  
Figure 2: The trend of electricity generation and deficiency in Zambia.