Zimbabwe launches 235 MW solar tender

The Infrastructure Development Bank of Zimbabwe has issued a request for proposal to seek potential partners for the construction of seven solar parks and two mini-hydro power plants.

The PV plants include 50 MW facilities the GDE Bulilima Solar Energy Project, 20km from Plumtree in Matabeleland South province; the Sable Solar Farm Project at Kwekwe, Midlands province; the Gwayi Solar Project, in the Kusile district of Matabeleland North; and the Rufaro Solar Farm Project at Marondera, 70km east of Harare in Mashonaland East.

A 10 MW scheme is planned to generate electricity for the national grid at an unspecified location, a 20 MW plant will be developed in Gutu, Masvingo and a 5 MW asset will be deployed at the National University of Science and Technology.

Interested investors have until September 30 to submit proposals.

Zimbabwe’s government has recently returned to solar after a hiatus. In mid-July, the minister of energy and power development, Fortune Chasi, announced plans to review all licenses for power generation projects and to move forward with a 100 MW tendered PV project whose realization has been delayed for years.

The nation is in a desperate need of new power generation capacity and solar offers a cheap, scalable solution. Zimbabwe had only 11 MW of installed solar capacity at the end of December, according to the latest statistics released by the International Renewable Energy Agency.