03 Jan 2023
The Zimbabwean Government has proposed incentives to accelerate nearly 1,000 MW of privately owned solar energy projects. The overall project, worth about $1 billion, is a drive toward the country’s target of generating 1,100 MW of renewable energy by 2025. This has recently slowed down due to the lack of investments from private project developers.The Finance Minister of Zimbabwe, Mthuli Ncumbe, said the proposed projects come at a time when Zimbabwe scrambles to plug an electricity deficit that endangers and compounds its economic woes. The country is currently producing a third of its total peak power demand of 2 GW. Zimbabwe is undergoing up to 18 hours of daily power cuts as its main Kariba hydroelectricity plant is cutting power generation due to its low water levels. The aging thermal power plants of the country are prone to frequent breakdowns, impacting businesses and household activities. The power tariffs in this Southern African country have also failed to keep track of inflation, which was 255% in last month. Many of the independent power producers (IPPs), which require foreign cash to finance the development of solar energy projects, were unable to remit dividends and service foreign loans since there is a current shortage in the country’s foreign currency.
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