Zimbabwe is mobilising funds to undertake an assessment on possible sites for wind energy plants in the Southern African country, a report in the weekly Sunday Mail said. The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA) had initially invited bids from interested contractors to carry out a feasibility study in 2017 to ascertain the feasibility of energy potential in the country. The project did not proceed as the bids exceeded the budget earmarked for the project. The government is now looking to source additional funds to implement the project, according to Energy and Power Development Minister Zhemu Soda.
The purpose of the feasibility project is to gather accurate knowledge of the wind resource available in Zimbabwe through measurement and analysis to help the country plan for renewable energy projects.
The study will measure wind speed and direction at various sites across Zimbabwe and remotely collect data for 24 months at a hub height of 100 meters. The data and information generated was expected to be used in designing large-scale wind power projects, off-grid or mini-grid electric plants, use for water pumping and climate research.
Zimbabwe’s Energy Minister, Zhemu Soda, said the Southern African nation intends to generate 100 MW from wind by 2025.
“There were issues of inadequate funds from the previous budget and we are now looking for additional funds to carry out a viable feasibility study which investors can bank on,” said Minister Soda in an interview.
“This will help us to meet our target of producing 100 megawatts from wind farms by 2025.”
Wind energy potential in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe has been experiencing persistence power cuts for the past 2 decades, with sometimes power cuts lasting 18 hours in a single day. The implementation of renewable energy will help the country reduce its energy shortage challenges and reduce its electricity import bill. The country is heavily reliant on electricity imports from its neighbours, South Africa and Mozambique.
Zimbabwe is lucky in that it has a good mix of resources — sun, wind, water and biomass energy sources that are in abundance and these can complement one another and make the transition to renewable energy much easier.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) conducted a satellite data analysis for wind power potential in Zimbabwe, which showed that some parts of the country, including parts of the Great Dyke region, Eastern Highlands and Matabeleland South have the potential for wind energy generation.
Generating more energy from renewable energy sources will help the country decarbonise and meet its climate action goals. The country is a signatory to the Paris climate change accord agreed in 2015, which largely seeks to hold the increase of the global average temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius.
