Chronicle Editor
Trust Freddy, Harare Bureau
DINSON Iron and Steel Company (also known as Disco Steel) has taken a giant leap forward by inaugurating its own 50MW power plant.
The self-sufficient energy plant puts the company in the lead among big industries in the country.
By effectively reducing its dependence on the national grid, Disco Steel can now operate smoothly without any hindrances in production.
The Manhize Steel Plant, which consumes a sizeable 28MW of power, now expects to synchronise the rest of the balance into the national grid. In light of this development, Energy and Power Development Minister, Edgar Moyo, accompanied by his Permanent Secretary, Dr Gloria Magombo, and senior Government officials, praised the company during a tour of the production site.
After witnessing the impressive strides taken by Disco Steel, Minister Moyo commended the company for its efforts to satisfy its energy needs.
“I think the critical thing to understand is that Manhize is generating its power. Right now they are producing up to 50MW and are using about 28MW,” he said.
“So, the balance is what they are now working on synchronising with ZETDC so that it goes to the national grid and they can sell power to augment our power in the system.”
Minister Moyo also assured members of the public that the company was no longer putting pressure on the national grid.
“We will soon benefit a lot from power from Manhize. We are here to appreciate what Manhize is doing in terms of producing their own power.”
The minister implored highly consumptive companies to emulate Dinson Iron and Steel Company.
“It is our request and encouragement that big companies should also invest in power generation. They will see their costs coming down and it will augment our power supply-demand gap. We want to encourage big companies to invest just like what Dinson is doing here.”
Dinson projects director, Mr Wilfred Motsi, said: “This plant produces about 50MW, but because of the construction phase where we are, we are just utilising about 24MW.
“We have been very proactive to the call by the minister that those who are intensive users should produce their own power and we have started that.”
The company is further expanding its power generation capacity with an additional 20MW installation at its Manhize plant, which will bring total power output to 70MW.
“In the coming months, we will be producing an extra 20MW from waste gas coming from our blast furnace,” said Mr Motsi.
The power plant utilises advanced heat exchange technology to generate electricity.
The process begins with the combustion of coal in a Circulating Fluidised Bed (CFB) boiler, which ensures high-efficiency combustion, minimal maintenance costs, and reduced emissions.
The heat generated from the CFB boiler is then harnessed through a heat exchange method to produce high-pressure steam. This steam drives turbines at 3 000 rpm, ultimately generating 50MW of electricity.
This innovative facility harnesses waste heat and combustible gases from the blast furnace and Basic Oxygen Furnace to produce electricity.
This eco-friendly approach utilises waste energy from existing industrial processes to generate electricity, reducing the company’s carbon footprint and environmental impact.
The giant $1,5 billion plant in Manhize near Mvuma successfully switched on its furnaces recently, marking the historic start of production of pig iron, the major raw material in the production of steel.
Disco is projected to produce 600 000 tonnes of products in the first phase rising to 1,2 million tonnes in the second phase then 3,2 million tonnes in the third phase and ultimately five million tonnes per year in the final phase.
Other products that the company will eventually produce include pipes, bolts and nuts, smaller slags, rolled tubes, fences, shafts, wires and bars.
Preliminary estimates suggest that net annual revenues are expected to hit US$10 million during the first phase and rise to US$4,25 billion under phase four of production.
Online Reporter