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Chisumbanje-based ethanol producer Green Fuel has begun feeding 10 megawatts of electricity into the national grid as part of efforts to improve power supplies countrywide.
Engineers have already completed upgrading transmission lines to facilitate distribution of power from the Green Fuel grid.
The company can produce around 22MW depending on feedstock quantities, with electricity generated as a by-product of ethanol manufacturing.
Of these units, 8MW are used by the ethanol plant and the remainder fed into the national grid.
Ten megawatts are enough to power a city the size of Mutare.
It is believed independent power producers (IPPs) in the Lowveld have capacity to wean parts of Manicaland from the national electricity grid.
Energy and Power Development Minister Dzikamai Mavhaire told The Sunday Mail that Green Fuel’s contribution fell under an initiative tailored to encourage IPPs to help boost national power supplies.
The minister recently commissioned other IPPs which are collectively injecting 20MW into the main grid.
Two more such power producers are expected to contribute an additional 1 200 MW – roughly 66 percent of the country’s peak demand – by 2016.
Minister Mavhaire said Government was pursuing medium and long-term projects such as the expansion of Kariba South and Hwange power stations, with IPPs expected to provide relief in the short-term.
Zimbabwe is currently producing 1 200MW against national demand of 2 200MW.
“This is part of various projects which are underway in our effort to generate more power in line with our economic blue-print, Zim-Asset,” said Minister Mavhaire.
“We expect this good work to be commissioned soon. Remember, power generation is key if we want Zim-Asset to succeed.”
Online Reporter