With an avalanche of new projects
the government implementation agreement which covers currency convertibility, an economic tariff and a guarantee on the power purchase agreement.”
The selected IPPs will benefit from a capped tariff of US$9c per kilowatt hour (kWh) for solar energy, regardless of the capacity, against the current tariff of US12 cents/kWh.
Ncube said Treasury was looking forward to accelerated investment in the renewable energy space.
If an IPP defaults, the Treasury boss said the government would step in.
“Who defaults is Zesa or ZEDTC (Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company).
“So this is the government guarantee that should ZETDC be unable to pay the IPP investor for the electricity that they have supplied onto the grid, central government through Treasury will step in to pay the IPP investor so that is really the guarantee.”
Treasury will be guaranteeing the power purchase agreement for the electricity that ZETDC would have purchased from the IPP.
Zimbabwe has embarked on aggressive initiatives to combat the growing power deficit in the country, which ranges between 500MW to 1 000MW on average.
According to Southern African Power Pool, the country has an installed capacity of 2 412MW, but only has an operating capacity of 1 400MW, against a peak demand of 1 900MW.
“One of the key instruments that we deem to be a game changer in the sector (energy) is the development of the government project support agreement (GPSA), which is a government implementation agreement for our energy sector,” Energy and Power Development minister Edgar Moyo said.
“This document was crafted with the help of the African Development Bank’s legal support facility.
“The committee that developed this document was composed of my Mmnistry; the Ministry of Finance and Investment Promotion; Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency; Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe; Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera); and ZETDC.”
He said through the technical and financial support of the Africa Legal Support Facility they contracted two law consulting firms, who guided them through the development of the project.
“I am glad to announce that the document is now complete,” Moyo added.
He said the revised Nationally Determined Contributions of 2021 sought to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHGs) by 40% per capita across all sectors of the economy.
Thermal energy has become the country’s biggest source of power, overtaking hydro owing to depleting water sources.
“This target must be approached at with the National Vision in mind, which is to achieve an upper middleincome economy by 2030,” Moyo added.
“The Ministry of Energy and Power Development highly appreciates your valuable inputs at this International Renewable Energy Conference.
“This conference has become a significant event on our calendar and sets the tone for the year in our renewable energy space.
Energy is the driver for economic and sustainable development over the world at a time the energy sector is being advised to utilise renewable energy sources.
In Zimbabwe, a significant urban-rural disparity exists when it comes to access to electricity with a large proportion of the rural population still lacking access to electricity.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa in a speech read on his behalf by Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga said challenges posed by climate change demanded decisive action by governments.
“The multi-pronged challenges of climate change coupled with the urgent need to industrialise our country demand you to be bold and decisive in the type of interventions and investments you make to close the energy gap,” Mnangagwa said.
“As we march towards realising energy self-sufficiency, the second republic is increasing the share of renewables as we migrate from non-renewable sources.
“Going into the future, we shall continue to prioritise the maintenance and rehabilitation of existing energy infrastructure over and above new green-field energy projects.”
“As ministries, departments and agencies in the energy sector, you are challenged to facilitate and not to frustrate partners and investors.”
He urged the energy sector to shift the discourse so that the country charted greener development pathways that did not compromise environmental biodiversity and the pressing need to modernise and industrialise Africa.
Mnangagwa also said the government will continue to fine-tune policies and heighten the implementation of flagship projects to manage the uncertainties associated with climate change.
Zimbabwe experiences a power deficit of 500 megawatts (MW) to as much as 1 000MW owing to mostly climate change.
Delegates from over 10 countries attended the conference.