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Renewable Energy

French Energy Major Engie joins Buyout Queue For Equis Energy India Assets

written by saurabh

Indian media outlets have reported new development on the market buzz that Equis Energy, a renewable energy IPP in India, is looking to sell its assets.

Business daily Mint has reported that French utility Engie may be looking to acquire the Indian assets from Equis Energy. Equis Energy operates its India assets through two companies – Energon and Energon Soleq. Energon has operational assets of 414 megawatts while Energon Soleq has operational and under-construction assets of 560 megawatts. Equis Energy recently entered a new agreement with the government of Haryana which will enable the company’s expansion into markets other than utility-scale solar market.

Equis … signed an agreement with the government of Haryana to set up canal-top solar power projects. Under the agreement, Equis would invest $150 million to develop an undisclosed number or capacity of canal-top solar power projects.

In June, another company – Hero Future Energies – was reported to be in talks with Equis Energy to acquire these assets. No new development has been reported in this regard since.

Engie, through its subsidiary Solairedirect, is a major participant in the rapidly growing India solar power market. So acquisition of Energon Soleq could prove to be a logical expansion of Solairedirect’s portfolio as the latter missed out on several power projects in competitive auctions.

Solairedirect has grand plans in India.

Chief executive officer at Engie Isabelle Kocher recently stated that the company is looking to secure at 400 megawatts solar power capacity every year with a planned investment of $1 billion over the next five years in India.

Solairedirect has been very competitive in reverse auctions across India.

In January 2016, the company nearly tied for the lowest solar power tariff in India at that time. The company secured rights to develop 140 megawatts at the Bhadla solar power park in the state of Rajasthan; it placed a winning bid of Rs 4.35/kWh (6.7¢/kWh).

Solairedirect won rights to develop a 250-megawatt solar power project in the Kadapa solar power park being developed in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The company placed a winning bid of Rs 3.15/kWh (4.8¢/kWh), 4.5% lower than the previous record of Rs 3.30/kWh (5.1¢/kWh) levelized tariff set in February 2017.

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July 24, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Warburg Pincus To Invest $100 Million In Indian Rooftop Solar Developer CleanMax

written by saurabh

In a major, and much-needed, boost for the Indian rooftop solar power market, a US-based private equity firm will invest $100 million in one of the leading rooftop solar developers in India.

CleanMax Solar recently announced that it will receive $100 million in investment from the private equity firm Warburg Pincus. These funds will be used by CleanMax to further expand its presence in the Indian solar power market and explore expansion opportunities in select international markets.

Investment by Warburg Pincus in the rooftop solar power market in India possibly indicates where the investor comfort lies. Utility-scale solar power market in India is extremely competitive. Earlier this year we saw tariff bids falling by 26% in large-scale solar power auctions held between February and May. Margins are really tight in the utility-scale business due to low tariffs and are highly dependent on availability of low-cost debt and support from regulatory bodies.

Rooftop solar power market, on the other hand, is yet to take off. There are several options available with the project developers, including competitive auctions. Developers can directly approach industries and commercial establishments to set up rooftop solar power systems to replace grid supply. With the fall in solar module prices several private sector institutions and organisations have opted to switch to rooftop solar replacing a part of their grid import.

Similarly, the Opex or Resco model is also available to the rooftop project developers which offers significant potential for profits. This is the model used for setting up rooftop solar power systems at Chennai Metro, an urban rail system.

Opex or Resco model wherein Chennai Metro will not have to make any upfront investment. CleanMax Solar shall make the entire capital investment to set up the power systems. CleanMax and Chennai Metro would enter a long-term power purchase agreement.

After recovering the capital investment in a few years, revenue from the sale of electricity to Chennai Metro will be profit for CleanMax Solar. Chennai Metro, too, expects to save around Rs 1.5 crore (over $230,000) every year, and Rs 37.5 crore ($5.8 million) over a 25-year period.

This investment by Warburg Pincus is a major milestone in India’s rooftop solar power market. This could hopefully spur additional investment in the sector helping India increase the rooftop solar power capacity to 40 gigawatts by March 2022, as has been targeted by the government.

July 22, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Rising Price Of Chinese Modules Could Jeopardise New Solar Plants In India

written by saurabh

As top executives of some of the leading Indian and international project developers slugged it out for more than 24 hours at a stretch in the May earlier this year to outbid one another in some the fiercest of competitive solar auctions in India to date, the winners would have hoped that they have overcome one of the biggest challenges. Now, it seems the winners could face another uphill task of keeping the project costs in check.

According to media reports, price of Chinese modules have increased by more than 47% from the price project developers of India’s cheapest solar power projects had assumed during the competitive auctions in May. According to business daily Mint, project developers bidding for 750 megawatts capacity at Bhadla solar power park had assumed cost of modules at 23¢ per watt. these prices have now increased to 34¢ per watt for delivery scheduled in August.

An increase of 47% in the cost of a component that comprises of a big majority of the project cost of a solar PV power plant is a matter of deep concern for a developer, to put it mildly! The concerns become a huge problem and challenge when the developer has quoted a tariff as low as Rs 2.44/kWh (3.8¢/kWh), the lowest-ever in India.

The rapid decline in solar power tariff bids in India has been fuelled, in a large part, due to the falling prices of Chinese modules which hold an overwhelming share in the Indian market.

Since February 2017 this year four major solar power auctions have taken place in India with the lowest tariff bids falling by as much as 26% between the first and the latest auction.

Over the years, dependence on Chinese imports has increased significantly.

According to Mercom Capital, project developers imported solar modules worth US$763 million between April and August 2016, an increase of 53% from imports worth US$497 million during the same period last year. Share of modules from China also increased sharply. Chinese modules accounted for 85% of the total modules imported in India, followed by Malaysia at distant 9%; modules from Taiwan, the US and Singapore accounted for 3% to 1% each.

In financial year 2014-15 (April 2014 to March 2015), India imported 161.5 million with 70% of them coming from China. During the preceding financial year, the share of Chinese modules in total imports was 65%.

July 22, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

World’s First Solar-powered Train Launched In India

written by saurabh

The Indian Railways, world’s fourth largest railway network, recently took a massive step towards sustainable energy as it launched the world’s first-ever solar powered train.

A short distance inter-city train was launched in India’s capital recently which had 4.8 kilowatts of solar modules installed atop six coaches. The train is the first in the world to be powered by solar power. The train is also equipped with a battery backup which can power it for 72 hours.

The six coaches are equipped with 16 panels of 300 watts (peak) capacity each. These panels are used for powering fans and lighting systems inside the coaches. The initiative will soon be extended to other short-distance inter-city trains and eventually expanded to long-distance trains as well. Once fully implemented the program will result in significant savings for the Indian Railways.

The CEO of Indian Railways Organisation for Alternative Fuel told media outlets that the total monetary savings for this entire project is expected to be around Rs 700 crore ($108 million). Each such trains will reduce consumption of diesel by more than half a million litres over a 25 year period. Around 1,350 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions will also be offset by each solar-powered train during the same time period.

Last month, the Indian Railways launched a tender for installation of solar panels and battery backup systems for 250 trains.

Companies selected through the tender process will be required to install flexible solar panels and battery systems on six trains on experimental basis. These trains will be put into commercial operations and performance of the panels and batteries would be tested for a period of two months before a decision on large-scale implementation is taken.

The Indian Railways is working on several initiatives to enhance sustainability in its operations. It is planning to set up bio-diesel refineries to blend 5% biodiesel in its diesel locomotives. It is also exploring using of Compressed Natural Gas to replace at least 20% of diesel consumption.

A highly ambitious project to cover almost every railway station in the country with rooftop solar panels has also been undertaken. Around 7,000 railway stations will be installed with rooftop solar power systems with a cumulative capacity of 1,000 megawatts.

A study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water stated that Indian Railways has the potential to source 25% of its electricity needs from renewable energy sources by 2025. According to the study, Indian Railways can set up 3.9 gigawatts of utility-scale and 1.1 gigawatts of rooftop solar power systems to meet 25% of its electricity demand.

July 21, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Insolvency Scare For Indian Wind Company Inox Amidst Shift To Competitive Auctions

written by saurabh

Clouds of insolvency are hovering over Inox Wind’s future as the wind energy sector in India decisively moves from feed-in tariff regime to competitive auctions.

Inox Wind, an integrated wind energy solutions provider in India, has claimed that it is in ‘excellent’ financial health after a government body ordered to initiate insolvency proceedings against the company. The government body was forced to take the decision after the company failed to make payment for import shipment of some products.

“Except for a simple denial in response sent by the respondent, there are no other circumstances which can be considered to say that the corporate debtor has raised a dispute”, Inox Wind said in a statement while announcing its plan to challenge the order.

Inox Wind had reported a 23% decline in revenue for FY2016-17 to Rs 3,415 crore ($530 million) while net profit fell by 34% to Rs 302 crore ($47 million) during the same period. In May, the company had stated that it a large percentage of its portfolio would take a hit as the market moves from feed-in tariff regime to competitive auctions.

The first wind energy auction in India saw significant competition among bidders who were willing to set up more than twice the capacity on offer. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy announced an aggressive roadmap to auction 5-6 gigawatts wind capacity every year.

Inox, itself, secured rights to develop 250 megawatts project in that state of Gujarat in the first-ever auction. The company would receive Rs 3.46/kWh (5.2¢/kWh) as tariff, the lowest for any project in India, ever.

Seeing the aggressive bidding by the project developers several state regulators hit breaks on under-construction projects. State utilities, with backing from the regulators, refused to sign power purchase agreements for these projects. This placed several hundred megawatts wind energy capacity in limbo.

Now, several states have announced that wind energy projects shall be contracted through competitive auctions only and no feed-in tariffs will be offered to wind projects. With a large number of companies operational in the Indian wind energy sector and market share skewed heavily in favour of biggies like Gamesa and Suzlon Energy, it is likely that smaller players, including Inox Wind, could face increased pressure on margins, and thus profits.

July 20, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

India Coal Company Bags 709 MW Solar In Auction

written by saurabh

NLC India Limited, a coal mining and power generation company in India, has taken perhaps its largest set towards a greener and sustainable future after successfully participating in one of the largest solar power auctions in the country.

NLC India, formerly Neyveli Lignite Corporation, recently secured rights to develop 709 megawatts of solar power capacity in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The company shall receive Rs 3.47/kWh (5.4¢/kWh) as tariff, likely under a long-term power purchase agreement spanning 25 years.

NLC India had offered to build the entire 1.5 gigawatts of solar power capacity offered in the tender by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) at a tariff of Rs 3.97/kWh (6.1¢/kWh). The company agreed to match the lowest tariff offered in the auction and will now develop 709 megawatts.

Participation in the tender is part of NLC’s overall strategy to move towards a sustainable energy future with reduce share of lignite mining and coal-based power generation. The company plans an investment of Rs 17,400 crore ($2.7 billion) to set up 4.2 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity. This includes around 4,000 megawatts of solar power and 200 megawatts of wind energy capacity.

The company plans to set up 995 megawatts solar power capacity each in the states of Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. Projects in the both the states are expected to be commissioned in 2019.

NLC India has floated a tender to set up 500 megawatts solar power capacity in Tamil Nadu in December 2016. Details of result of this tender are scarce but Gamesa was reported to have had quoted the lowest bid for 100 megawatts capacity.

In August last year, the company announced that it started construction of a 65 megawatt solar power project at Neyveli in Tamil Nadu. The project has long-term power purchase agreement with TANGEDCO.

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July 17, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

India’s Orient Green Power To Exit Biomass Power Market

written by saurabh

With increased spotlight on solar and wind energy sectors in India major renewable energy player is looking to exit the biomass power sector.

Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange-listed renewable energy generator Orient Green Power Limited has announced plans to sell off its biomass power business. The biomass power business is making loss dragging the entire company which includes several wind energy assets as well.

The company is on track to sell a 20 megawatt cogeneration plant in the state of Maharashtra. The power plant which uses sugarcane residue as fuel for power and heat generation will be sold off to a host sugar mill. Another biomass power plant of 10 megawatts will be sold off in Rajasthan.

Losses in the biomass power sector increased sharply over the years as scale of operations and revenues dwindled. The company shelved a plan to de-merge and list the biomass power business.

Orient Green Power reported revenue of ₹78 crore ($12.1 million) and loss of ₹81 crore ($12.6 million) last financial year. The company also has an outstanding debt of ₹193 crore ($29.9 million).

The company believes that the loss-making biomass power business is dragging the wind energy business. Among all the renewable energy technologies biomass and biofuel cogeneration have received less attention from the government, regulators and project developers.

India has announced specific targets as well as market mechanisms for wind and solar power sectors but not for biomass and biofuel cogeneration. Both, wind and solar power sectors have moved from feed-in tariff regime to competitive auctions but other technologies, including biomass, haven’t. This has made solar and wind power far more attractive to utilities as auctions have reduced their tariffs to cheaper than those of most thermal power plants.

Therefore, it makes complete sense for developers like Orient Green Power to reduce their liabilities and focus on technologies that find favour from the government and as well as the market.

July 16, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Indian State Generates Record Wind Power, Forced To Shut Thermal Power Projects

written by saurabh

The monsoon season in India brings with it very high wind speeds, especially in the southern part of country. This year it has enabled record wind power generation in at least one of the states.

Tamil Nadu reported highest-ever wind energy generation in the country. The state experienced more than 5,000 megawatts of wind power for more than 2 hours on 11 July. The highest wind generation was recorded at 7 in the evening as 5,079 megawatts.

The high wind energy generation forced the state utility to shutdown 1,020 megawatts of thermal power capacity and operate several other power plants at half of their capacity.

With a total demand of less than 14,000 megawatts on 11 July evening, wind power fulfilled more than a third of the total demand. The total energy generated from wind energy projects that day was 84.5 million kWh, which translates into 28% of the total electricity consumed in the state. The electricity generation was slightly lower than the all-time record of 99.5 million kWh.

Tamil Nadu has the largest installed wind energy capacity among all Indian states. The state has had several transmission issues, especially during the monsoon season, for absorbing all the wind energy generated. But the situation seems to have improved significantly now as has been demonstrated by the high share of wind energy procurement.

Things may have also improved due to an advisory issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy which termed solar and wind energy projects as ‘must run’. This means that state utilities are obligated to procure electricity from renewable energy projects even if they have to shutdown thermal power plants.

July 15, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

GE Energy Financial Services To Invest $90 Million In Indian Solar IPP

written by saurabh

GE Energy Financial Services will make a new investment in India’s renewable energy sector.

RattanIndia Solar will receive $90 million investment from GE Energy Financial Services to develop 500 megawatts solar power capacity across India. The two companies shall jointly develop the capacity. GE Energy Financial Services shall have 51 percent share in the venture while the balance will be owned by RattanIndia Solar.

RattanIndia Solar, a subsidiary of the RattanIndia Group, has participated in several competitive solar power auctions in a number of states. GE Energy Financial Services has already made investments in 210 megawatts solar power capacity owned by RattanIndia Solar. These projects are located in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra.

GE Energy Financial Services has made several investments in India in the past. Among the most significant was acquisition of equity state in 156 megawatts solar project of Welspun Energy. The project was the largest solar power plant in India at the time of the deal.

RattanIndia Power was in the news last year when it announced plans to replace its planned coal-based power plant in Punjab with a large-scale solar power project.

RattanIndia Power is reportedly planning to use 324 hectares of land in the northern state of Punjab originally earmarked for a coal-based power plant to set up a 200 MW solar power plant.

The company has dropped plans for the coal-based power plant after it failed to receive assurance of domestic coal supply. The issue of consistent fuel supply has dogged Indian thermal power plants for years and importing coal from other countries has not solved the problem either.

Thermal power plants in India, especially those owned by private companies, continue to face coal supply and cost issues. Operators like Tata and Adani are facing increased imported coal prices and have been vying the regulators to increase their tariffs at a time when solar power tariffs have become cheaper than cost of thermal power.

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July 12, 2017 0 comment

Articles Renewable Energy

Indian Lawmakers Propose Tariff Reduction For Operational Solar Projects

written by saurabh

Lawmakers of Indian state of Tamil Nadu recently revealed that they are negotiating with at least one solar project developer to reduce tariff. This could trigger a bad precedent across India as bids for new solar projects continue to decline rapidly.

The project in question in Tamil Nadu is no ordinary solar project. The government of Tamil Nadu is looking to get Adani Green Energy reduce tariff of its 648 megawatt project – the largest in India.

The Adani project, commissioned last year, gets paid Rs 7.01 (11¢) for every unit of electricity it feeds into the grid. That’s a massive premium to the current lowest tariff bid in the country, nearly three times as much.

Tamil Nadu recently issued a tender for 1.5 gigawatts solar power capacity and set a maximum tariff at Rs 4.00/kWh (6.2¢/kWh). It is clear that the government wants to check any ‘unjust’ profits that the developers may be getting due to advancements in technology and the share decline in module prices over the last several months.

A similar attempt was made in 2015 in the state of Gujarat. The projects in question at that time were among the first utility-scale solar power projects in India which predate even the National Solar Mission. The very first projects commissioned in Gujarat are still getting tariffs as high as Rs 12/kWh (19¢).

Power utilities in Gujarat approached the regulators to reduce tariffs of these operational projects but did not find any success. The matter was dragged into a court which ruled in favour of the developers.

Any retrospective reduction in tariffs will also send the wrong message to project developers which could put brakes on India’s march to become one of the largest solar power markets in the world. Any doubt in the developers’ mind could make them ask for new PPA templates which could elongate the regulatory procedures and delay project execution.

Screengrab from NatGeo documentary on Adani Energy solar power plant

July 12, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Indian State Of Tamil Nadu Allocates 1.5 Gigawatts In Latest Solar Tender

written by saurabh

The south Indian state of Tamil Nadu has completed one of the largest solar power capacity allocation in the country. The state government recently confirmed that it project developers have agreed to develop a 1.5 gigawatts of solar PV power capacity following a competitive auction.

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has announced that it awarded solar power projects with cumulative capacity of 1,500 megawatts to 16 developers. All these projects have been awarded at Rs 3.47/kWh (5.4¢/kWh), the lowest tariff bid committed by 25 participating developers.

Last month, TANGEDCO received massive response to the tender with project developers willing to set up 2.67 gigawatts capacity against the offered 1.5 gigawatts capacity. The bids submitted by the participating companies varied from Rs 3.47/kWh (5.4¢/kWh) to Rs 4.00/kWh (6.2¢/kWh), the maximum allowed bid.

A public sector company NLC Limited had offered placed a bid to develop the entire 1.5 gigawatts capacity at Rs 3.97/kWh (6.1¢/kWh) but eventually agreed to do it match the lowest tariff of Rs 3.47/kWh (5.4¢/kWh).

TANGDECO called upon all the developers to match the lowest bid and 16, including NLC, responded positively. Raasi Green Earth Energy, a lesser known developer in India, is believed to the have bagged 100 megawatts; the company has placed the lowest bid. NLC was awarded 700 megawatts capacity likely because some other developers refused to match the lowest bid.

The successful tendering is a major milestone for TANGEDCO which has been really struggling to attract solar project developers when compared to other states like Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

TANGEDCO had offered 500 megawatts solar power capacity in February 2016 but received bids for just 177 megawatts. The utility put 500 megawatts capacity on the block again in November 2016 but received bids for 300 megawatts only.

The power utility is known to be facing financial challenges accompanied by non-availability of ample grid infrastructure to support renewable energy projects. Tamil Nadu is already the largest wind energy producing state in India.

While project developers have been given upto 24 months to commission their projects, the longest-ever in Indian history, they have chosen to quote tariffs which are at significant premium to the current lowest solar power tariff in the country. ACME Cleantech Solutions currently holds the record for lowest solar power tariff in India at Rs 2.44/kWh (3.8¢/kWh).

July 8, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Future Of Renewable Energy Projects In South Africa At Crossroads Again

written by saurabh

South Africa’s power utility Eskom has once again refused to sign power purchase agreements with renewable energy project developers and this time it seems to have complete backing of the government.

Recently, an inter-governmental team informed the South African Parliament that Eskom is facing some challenges which are preventing it from signing PPAs with renewable energy project developers who had secured projects through competitive auctions.

One of the challenges, as quoted by the team, is oversupply in the grid. This directly highlights the poor planning and foresight of the government which launched, and then expanded, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme.

With its decision not to sign PPAs with planned projects, investment worth $4.45 billion is now stranded. This is the second time that Eskom has backtracked from its commitment to sign the PPAs.

In August last year, Eskom had refused to sign a PPA with a concentrated solar power project backed by SolarReserve with a capacity of 100 megawatts. The project has a tariff of 12.40/kWh and the agreement was supposed to be signed for a duration of 20 years.

Eskom openly stated that it will no longer sign PPAs with any renewable energy projects. The utility stated that there was excess renewable energy going into the grid, which has also increased the cost of power.

Eskom has also expressed concerns over the existing grid to absorb the new renewable energy projects. However, it received a loan worth $1.34 billion from African Development Bank (AfDB) for the expansion and strengthening of its transmission network.

In January 2017, the South African Renewable Energy Council threaten to drag Eskom to court over its refusal to sign PPAs with renewable energy project developers. There has been no recent update about whether such a lawsuit was ever filed.

In March 2017, energy ministry Tina Joemat-Pettersson said that Eskom would soon sign outstanding PPAs. But the utility missed a deadline set by the ministry.

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July 4, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Indian State Of Uttar Pradesh Proposes 10.7 Gigawatts Solar Power Target For 2022

written by saurabh

The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has proposed what could be the largest solar power target in the country as it lays out plans to achieve the mandated solar power consumption target.

The Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) recently released a draft policy that calls for installed solar power capacity target of 10.7 gigawatts by 2022. The target includes 4.3 gigawatts of rooftop capacity as well. The new policy puts Uttar Pradesh on track to meet the 8% solar power consumption target mandated by the central government for all states.

The new draft policy has some major differences when compared with the previous solar power policy. The previous policy had a meagre target of 500 megawatts installed by March 2017. The state has failed miserably in achievement of this target. The state is reported to have just 102 megawatts of operational solar power capacity by the end of March 2017. No solar power parks were proposed either.

The UPNEDA now proposes to take the tried and successfully tested way of large-scale solar power parks. The Agency shall set up a joint venture company with the Solar Energy Corporation of India to oversee implementation of several large-scale solar power parks across the state over barren and wasteland. The minimum installed capacity of such parks will be 100 megawatts. Power utilities in Uttar Pradesh will procure at least 50% of the electricity generated from these solar parks while they balance could be exported to other states.

The large-scale solar park programme of the draft policy could be a game changer for the state of Uttar Pradesh. The state borders with Haryana, Delhi and Uttarakhand while Punjab and Himachal Pradesh are also nearby. All of these states will struggle to meet the 8% solar consumption target as they either lack waste, barren land to set up large-scale solar projects or have low solar radiation or the mountainous terrain makes it difficult for setting up new transmission lines to connect new solar projects to the existing grid.

Uttar Pradesh can easily export any surplus solar power that it may generate to these states. Or these states could urge the Uttar Pradesh government to expand the solar parks to accommodate additional capacity for them; something that Uttar Pradesh itself is planning to do.

June 30, 2017 0 comment

Renewable Energy

Zimbabwe Plans Green Energy Fund, 1 Gigawatt Renewable Energy Capacity

written by saurabh

The South African nation of Zimbabwe is reportedly planning a big push in the renewable energy sector with specific capacity targets and financial support to project developers.

According to a document reviewed by Bloomberg News, Zimbabwe is looking to set up a green energy fund, of undisclosed size. The fund will be used to provide financial incentives to independent power project developers to promote investment in the country’s largely untapped renewable energy sector. The fund will also have sovereign guarantees to instil confidence among investors.

The document also states a renewable energy capacity target. Zimbabwe plans to have 1 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity operational by 2025, which would contribute around 16% towards the total electricity generated in that year.

The state-owned power utility Zesa Holdings is able to generate only 1,500 megawatts of the 2,200 megawatts electricity demand in the country. The energy ministry is looking at renewable energy technologies to fill the gap.

Renewable energy is virtually non-existent in Zimbabwe. Earlier this year, Swiss company meeco Group commissioned the largest solar power project in Zimbabwe with a capacity of 216 kW.

In a presentation in 2016, Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate and Ministry Of Energy and Power Development reported that work in ongoing on at least three solar power projects in the country each with 100 megawatt capacity.

Zimbabwe has set renewable energy capacity target of 300 megawatts by 2018 and has also committed to a target to reduce energy-related carbon dioxide emissions on per capita basis by 33% by 2030 compared to business-as-usual scenario.

Substantial renewable energy potential exists in Zimbabwe and the the planned legislation would attract investors to tap this potential. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the country has around 200 megawatts of small hydro power potential and a high solar power potential with an average of 300 days or 3,000 hours of sunshine everyday.

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June 26, 2017 0 comment

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