Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
A GIANT solar plant with a capacity of adding 100MW electricity to the national grid is under construction in Victoria Falls, a development that is expected to become a game-changer for the province’s energy sector.
This comes as Zimbabwe targets to add more than 2 000MW to the national grid from solar, wind and other sources by 2030, according to the Ministry of Energy and Power Development.
Southern Energy has invested US$31 million for the first of the four phases for the Victoria Falls project located a few kilometres from the Victoria Falls International Airport.
The project is envisaged to be one of the largest solar parks in Zimbabwe and adds to a list of capital projects underway in the province.
Officials said the project started last year but was stalled by the outbreak of Covid-19.
Energy and Power Development Permanent Secretary Engineer Gloria Magombo yesterday said there are similar projects being carried out in the country.
“I can’t rightly say which one is the biggest as I need to go through the list but I understand the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera) licensed another one but I can’t say which one is bigger,” she said.
Zera spokesperson Mr Gladman Njanji had not responded to questions sent to him yesterday.
Southern Energy chairman Mr Berry Nyabonda said the project will be done in four phases and the first stage with 25MW will start feeding the grid in August.
Mr Nyabonda said construction started last year but was disrupted by Covid-19.
“We are pushing on to cover lost time. The first 25MW is budgeted for US$31 million and the main desire is to play a role in providing cleaner energy to the grid and we expect an upwards of solar energy connected to the national grid.
“We are currently in the initial phase of the first 25MW and we plan to connect to the national grid in August,” said Mr Nyabonda.
Matabeleland North Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Richard Moyo toured the facility and commended the private sector for complementing Government efforts in the development trajectory.
He was accompanied by various stakeholders including Hwange Rural District Council officials, local leadership and community members.
Minister Moyo said the project is a game-changer for the province and the whole country as it will set the pace for clean energy especially in the tourism city of Victoria Falls.
“This is a big project that will give out 100MW and they will do it in phases of 25MW at a time. So far, they have put panels and they will first connect to the grid in July and start feeding in August. Early next year they will put another 25MW and by end of the year they will have reached 100MW from the plant,” said Minister Moyo.
He said the project will play a key role as nearby boreholes will be connected with solar pumps while shops will also have access to electricity.
About 98 percent of workers are locals. “This is a game-changer and an important project that will give the tourism town access to clean energy and even tourists will appreciate the developments as this will mean uninterrupted services. This will add to expansion of Unit 7 and 8 and another 100MW solar plant being constructed at Cross Mabale in the same Hwange District, and with these projects, we will have enough power as a province and also result in the country being able to export to other countries,” said Minister Moyo.
He said Matabeleland North is endowed with vast natural resources including coal, gold and solar capacity among others whose extraction will catapult the province to development.
The Minister said clean energy is one of the priority areas for the National Development Strategy (NDS1), the others being food security, environmental protection, climate resilience and natural resources management.
“This is an exciting development for our district, province and country. It is well known that the National Development Strategy 1 is anchored on infrastructure development and private sector partnerships. When implemented with diligence and focus, we will attain our vision 2030 of an upper middle-income economy.
“It is therefore befitting that this project is being developed here in the country’s natural resource heartland and renewable energy will complement other national efforts to fight climate change, which is bringing severe droughts and cyclones,” said Minister Moyo. — @ncubeleon.
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