Emmerson Njanjamangezi, Group Features Editor 
THE Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ)’s renewable energy projects, which have a total capacity of 67 megawatts (MW), are progressing and well on course, the bank has said.
IDBZ is independently executing three projects — Gutu Solar (20 MW), Plumtree-based Tjibundule Energy (15 MW) and Gwayi Solar project (30 MW) — valued at US$93 million.
“…all the renewable energy projects which the bank is involved in are all at different stages of development. We are working with a number of independent power producers (IPPs) in the renewable energy space to ensure that citizens have access to clean, modern and affordable energy by 2030,” IDBZ said in a recent note.
The bank is also funding another three projects, which will be pursued by IPPs — Rufaro Farm Solar project (50 MW), Osborne Dam Mini Hydro project (1,7 MW) and Odzani Mini Hydro project (2,4 MW) — at a combined cost of US$86 million.
The projects, the infrastructure bank said, are part of its strategy to contribute to the national drive towards generation of renewable energy.
“In line with the increased thrust on clean energy, we have taken a deliberate position to play a more active role in efforts to increase electricity generation from renewables, through our own projects and also collaborating with independent power producers.”
The country has heavily relied on unsustainable fossil-based fuels.
The government through the National Energy Policy (NEP) of 2012 and the National Renewable Energy Policy (NREP) of 2019 has set out to promote the use of renewable energy.
According to the NREP, the energy transition from fossil-based fuels, driven by the need to reduce carbon emissions, is central to the government’s policy changes in the energy sector.
Zimbabwe is currently facing power shortages with estimated reliable generation of about 1 049 MW against an estimated suppressed peak demand of 2 200MW.
In response, the government has prioritised energy projects, which include the construction of new plants and the optimisation of existing plants.
Recently, the government partnered the World Bank to introduce a competitive programme for procuring large-scale photovoltaic solar power gadgets under the NEP.
The facilities will be developed under the World Bank’s Scaling Solar programme, and are expected to contribute to Zimbabwe’s plan to generate 400MW of solar by 2030.
Meanwhile, seven IPPs have had their licences cancelled by the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority after they failed to kick-start their projects as agreed.
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