Afghan 15.1MW scheme enlists development financiers

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
Afghanistan is home to 3MW of solar capacity but has potential for 220GW (Credit: Flickr / Carl Montgomery)

A utility-scale solar project in Afghanistan has made strides after bagging loans from multilateral and Canadian development institutions.

Turkey’s 77 Group recently secured a US$4 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to build a 15.1MW farm at Kandahar, in the country's south. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The PV project will also be backed via a separate US$3.85 million loan, which ADB will administer on behalf of Canada-funded concessional lender CFPS II.

Cleared for construction in February 2018, the Kandahar scheme is designed to supply 27.5GWh and avoid 8,500 CO2 tonnes every year.

The project signed 20-year PPAs with state utility DABS and is backed under a public-private partnership, signed last year in the presence of Afghan president Ashraf Ghani.

The Kandahar scheme looks set to boost a largely dormant PV ecosystem in war-torn Afghanistan, where grid connection is thought to only extend to roughly one-in-three citizens.

As ADB itself noted, the landlocked Asian state has potential for 220GW of solar but is currently only home to 3MW in installed solar generation capacity, a paltry 1% of the energy mix.

The pipeline has steadily swollen in recent years, however. Last February, the 77 Group project was cleared for construction alongside a second 15MW scheme also in Kandahar, to be delivered by local firm ZEFA.

Elsewhere, work is progressing for a 40MW project backed by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, as well as an ADB-backed 20MW scheme and a 5MW project in Ghor. In parallel, the country is working on a 2GW solar EOI and a pay-as-you-go solar-plus-storage programme for off-grid citizens.  

Read Next

October 6, 2025
Indian infrastructure company focused on rooftop and ground-based solar power installations, PVV Infra has secured solar power orders worth INR7.9 billion (US$90 million) through two of its subsidiaries. 
October 6, 2025
Indian solar developer ACME Group has established a new subsidiary to manage its renewable equipment manufacturing business, under which it is planning to scale production of TOPCon PV modules.
October 3, 2025
Chinese government policies and supply-side production cuts will drive a significant increase in solar and storage component costs.
October 1, 2025
Adding 32GW of new solar to Thailand’s power generation deployment targets could cut power generation costs by as much as US$1.8 billion.
Sponsored
September 26, 2025
Over the past three years, Tongwei has made a remarkable leap in the solar sector, shipping over 100GW of modules at record-breaking speed.
September 24, 2025
Representatives from the EU, IEA and IRENA have signed an open letter to deliver a 'just and equitable energy transition'.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
October 21, 2025
New York, USA
Solar Media Events
November 25, 2025
Warsaw, Poland
Solar Media Events
December 2, 2025
Málaga, Spain
Solar Media Events
February 3, 2026
London, UK