Online Reporter
Blessings Sibanda
Zimbabwe has lived with electricity challenges for so long that they have become accepted as normal. That should not be.
Every power cut reduces production, discourages investment and forces the country to spend scarce foreign currency importing electricity. Those imports reached US$69 million in the first five months of 2026 alone.
Against that backdrop, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority’s decision to grant a generation licence to GreenGrid Kariba Solar Park (Private) Limited is more than another regulatory approval. It marks tangible progress on a project that has spent almost three years quietly assembling the approvals, agreements and technical work needed to reach construction.
Unlike many projects that have been announced before they were ready, GreenGrid now holds a 600MW power purchase agreement with ZETDC, a 600MW transmission connection agreement securing access to the national grid, Cabinet approval, an executed long-term site lease and a generation licence confirming that the required environmental and technical studies have been completed. With the Government Project Support Agreement remaining the final major milestone before construction, this is a project that is on the cusp of implementation.
Whilst the country has seen many ambitious energy announcements that never progressed beyond artist’s impressions, GreenGrid stands apart for two reasons. First, it is promoted by the Rautenbach family, whose businesses have demonstrated an ability to finance, construct and operate large-scale infrastructure projects.
Green Fuel, now one of Africa’s leading ethanol producers, supplies ethanol for Zimbabwe’s petrol blending requirements and currently makes up around 20 percent of every litre of petrol sold in the country. This is a proven record of delivery on a national scale rather than aspiration.
Secondly, the project has been structured with formal Government oversight befitting its scale. In 2024, President Mnangagwa established an inter-ministerial committee to coordinate the project’s progression from concept toward implementation, bringing together the ministries whose mandates the project touches – energy, environment, lands and local government. That kind of structured, cross-Government coordination is what a project of this size and national significance requires.
Its importance, however, extends well beyond another solar power station. Kariba is uniquely positioned to combine solar and hydro generation in a way that makes both more effective.
During the day, solar generation can meet demand while allowing Kariba Hydro to conserve water it would typically have dispatched. That stored water can then be released during the evening and morning peaks, when electricity demand is highest and earns peak tariffs for ZETDC. In effect, the lake functions as a giant natural battery, storing energy during daylight hours and releasing it after sunset.
The result is more than additional renewable energy. It makes better use of Zimbabwe’s existing hydro infrastructure, eases pressure on Lake Kariba during periods of low rainfall and maximises transmission lines that have long been underutilised. The urgency is real: ZESA confirmed this month it’s already managing Kariba’s output to preserve water levels ahead of the forecast of a Super El Niño which would mean below normal rains.
With solar central to ZESA’s own plan, GreenGrid’s project, easing pressure on Kariba’s daytime dispatch, is a near-term necessity, not a nice-to-have. Zambia is pursuing a similar approach on its side of the lake, reflecting a growing global recognition that solar and hydro are far more valuable together than apart. Together, the two projects should ease pressure on Kariba’s water resource, allowing lake levels to rise over time.
The economics are equally persuasive. Electricity sold during peak demand attracts significantly higher tariffs than electricity generated during standard periods.
By allowing Kariba Hydro to shift generation into those peak hours, GreenGrid enables ZETDC to earn greater revenue from the same volume of hydroelectricity. That additional revenue is expected to exceed the cost of purchasing the project’s daytime solar output, strengthening the utility’s finances while eliminating dependence on imported electricity.
Perhaps most importantly, GreenGrid strengthens rather than bypasses the national grid. Across Zimbabwe, mines, factories, commercial businesses and homes are increasingly generating their own electricity shifting power demand off-grid. That makes sense for some, but it leaves ZESA maintaining the same lines and power stations for a shrinking paying customer base, with costs that don’t shrink to match.
The GreenGrid project breaks that pattern: a large-scale solar plant with all its power sold to ZETDC, giving the utility reliable new renewable capacity at scale rather than another customer going off-grid. A healthy national utility isn’t just good business, it’s essential for the economy and millions of Zimbabweans who can’t build their own power plant. The private sector has stepped up; the question now is whether the system around it keeps pace.
The impact of such a project would be difficult to overstate. The total generation from the project could supply around 15% of Zimbabwe’s electricity requirements, provide clean power equivalent to the needs of more than three million people and avoid approximately 1.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions each year. For Kariba District, it would represent the largest investment since construction of the dam itself, bringing employment, infrastructure and long-term economic activity.
Zimbabwe does not lack demand for electricity. It lacks sufficient reliable supply. The generation licence issued this month will not solve that challenge overnight. But if GreenGrid Kariba Solar Park delivers on the foundations already laid, it may come to be remembered as the point at which Zimbabwe’s renewable energy transition moved decisively from ambition to delivery.
