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Nqobile Bhebhe-Bulawayo Bureau
Zesa’s distribution arm has signed a power purchasing agreement with the owners of a 100MW solar station in Gwanda.
The station, which can also store 40MWh, 40 000 of the units that households buy, is owned by a South African independent power producer, Matshela Energy Limited and is one of the largest solar stations in Zimbabwe and Southern Africa.
Solar energy is starting to become a significant addition to Zimbabwe’s electricity generation able to fill the gap between supply and demand fairly quickly with a zero carbon footprint.
At the same time Government is encouraging independent power producers to complement its efforts to boost generation capacity and reduce reliance on imports and load shedding.
The 100MW expected from the Gwanda solar plant will help reduce the generation deficit.
In announcing the deal with ZETDC yesterday, Matshela Energy director Matshe Koko said: “The 100MW solar PV and 40MWh storage project signifies a change within the Southern African energy landscape and it will be one of the largest renewable energy and storage in Zimbabwe and the region,” he said in a statement.
He said the project was started in 2018.
“The people of Gwanda have been good to us and we owe it to them to succeed,” he said.
Matshela Energy is licensed in terms of the Electricity Act to construct, operate and maintain the 100MW solar power station and associated battery storage facility of 40MWh at Gwanda Timber Farm.
“This is a landmark achievement by Matshela Energy, the Zimbabwe Enegry Regulatory Authority (Zera), ZETDC, the Department of Energy and Power Development in Zimbabwe and other related parties,” it added.
Matshela said it is working to meet Zera’s stipulated timelines.
“According to the signed power purchase agreement, the Government support agreement must be concluded within the next 180 days from the signature date.
“A Government support agreement is an agreement between the Government of Zimbabwe acting through the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development and the independent power producer that set out terms on which the Government of Zimbabwe provides incentives and assistance to the IPP.
“We are confident that the Government support agreement will be concluded within the stipulated period,” the company said.
Since 2010, the regulatory authority has licensed over 70 IPPs to establish electricity generation plants across the country, with estimated output of over 6 000MW combined but so far only a few small projects are operational.
In line with Vision 2030, Government is working on the independents to contribute close to 40 percent of the targeted 11 500MW that the country needs in order to attain an upper-middle-income economy where electricity, among other services, should be readily available and accessible to all with adequate supplies for a much larger economy.
Several firms that use a lot of energy, especially in the mining sector, are installing solar plants to ensure steady supply of energy and boost production levels.
Caledonia Mining Corporation, which owns Blanket Gold Mine in Matabeleland South, says it has spent US$14 million on its solar 12MW solar station which will drastically reduce its power costs.
The station is expected to provide 27 percent of the mine’s electricity requirements.
Similarly, giant cement manufacturer, Pretoria Portland Cement (PPC) Zimbabwe is spending US$40 million on solar stations in Bulawayo and Colleen Bawn to give the company 17MW for own use and another 13MW for sale to ZETDC.
The stations will also reduce the cement industry carbon footprint.
Online Reporter