The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has issued a notice inviting tender for the procurement of 500 MW of solar power from projects at various locations in the country.

The country is planning to develop 500 MW of solar PV power projects of varying capacities at different strategic locations. The bidding documents for the tender will be available from June 2020.  ZETDC will provide funding for the development of solar projects.

The main aim of ZETDC is to increase the use of renewable energy in line with the government’s policy to reduce load shedding during the daytime by deploying solar projects at identified priority load centers.

The projects will be developed to reduce investment in connecting the projects to the grid and mitigate the climate change-induced risks of hydro and thermal power projects. The government is also aiming to reduce the level of non-firm power imports during the day and reduce investment risks by providing sustainable incentives and risk mitigation measures sustainably.

The contract will also include operation and maintenance (O&M) activities, and the projects will be owned and operated by the investor. The project will carry out social upliftment programs for vulnerable groups at the project sites and carry out training and capacity building exercises to provide training and capacity to sustain the renewable energy industry in Zimbabwe.

In September last year, the Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) had issued an expression of interest for a cumulative capacity of 235 MW of solar power projects at seven locations across the country.

Then back in 2018, it was reported that Zimbabwe announced the construction of its largest independent power producer (IPP) solar PV project. The Harava 22 MW utility-scale project will be developed on 40 hectares of land in Bwoni Village, Seke Rural district, which is located South West of the city of Harare. The project focuses on improving the lives of local communities.

Earlier, Mercom had reported that the SOLA Group had committed to set up 40 MW of solar projects in Southern Africa. It had secured 400 million Rand (R) ($26.28 million) to build commercial and industrial solar PV facilities across Southern Africa. The renewable energy fund, called Orionis, will enable 40 MW of solar PV projects to be built without capital expenditure by the electricity off-takers.