Energy in Zimbabwe is a serious problem for the country. Extensive use of firewood leads to
deforestation
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
and the electricity production capacity is too low for the current level of consumption.
Zimbabwe has one hydropower plant and four coal-fired generators that produce a total combined capacity of 2,240 megawatts (MW). Only 79.9% of the population have access to electricity.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and lar ...
from Zimbabwe’s energy sector come from combustion of carbon-based fuels as well as fugitive emissions during coal mining processes.
As part of Zimbabwe’s national climate change response policy, the country vowed to promote energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and develop low-carbon energy infrastructure.
Animal power
Animal power is a very useful source of energy in Zimbabwe. It is estimated that animals contribute with the equivalent of 6.8 million liters of diesel in the agricultural sector.
Fuelwood
Fuelwood is the most important domestic fuel in
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
. It was estimated to stand for about 50% of the total consumption in 2001.
This has led to deforestation in parts of the country with accompanying environmental problems such as
erosion
Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...
and diminishing
wildlife
Wildlife refers to domestication, undomesticated animal species (biology), species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wilderness, wild in an area without being species, introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous ...
.
Biogas
There is potential for
biogas
Biogas is a mixture of gases, primarily consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste and food waste. It is a ...
capture and distribution to reduce fuelwood consumption for cooking.
Coal
Zimbabwe has 30 billion tons of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when dea ...
in 21 known deposits. This could last for over 100 years at the 2001 rate of production.
In September 2013, the Chinese-backed company China Africa Sunlight Energy said it would begin work in early 2014 on a 600 MW coal-fired electricity plant in western
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, part of $2 billion of energy projects in the country.
Liquid fuels
Zimbabwe has no oil or gas resources of its own and is completely dependent on imports for this source of energy. A pipeline from the
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
port of
Beira to
Mutare
Mutare (formerly Umtali) is the most populous city in the province of Manicaland, and the third most populous city in Zimbabwe, having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 and approximately 260,567 ...
provides the majority of Zimbabwe's refined petroleum and diesel oil; the rest comes from
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
An ambitious project to produce 20% of the country's liquid fuel as
ethanol
Ethanol (abbr. EtOH; also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound. It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol with the chemical formula . Its formula can be also written as or (an ethyl ...
from
cane
Cane or caning may refer to:
*Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking
*Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance
*White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...
has been started in
Chipinge
Chipinge is a town in Zimbabwe, located in Chipinge District, in Manicaland Province, in southeastern Zimbabwe, close to the border with Mozambique.
Location
The town lies approximately , by road, south of Mutare, the nearest large city. This ...
,
Manicaland
Manicaland is a Provinces of Zimbabwe, province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2012 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census. After Harare and Bulawa ...
.
Electricity
Electricity generation
Electricity is generated at the
Kariba Dam
The Kariba Dam is a double curvature concrete arch dam in the Kariba Gorge of the Zambezi river basin between Zambia and Zimbabwe. The dam stands tall and long. The dam forms Lake Kariba, which extends for and holds of water.
Construction
Th ...
(ca. 750 MW), the
Hwange Thermal Power Station
The Hwange Thermal Power Station is the biggest power plant in Zimbabwe with an installed capacity of 920 MW. It is owned and operated by the national electricity company Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority. It was built in two stages a ...
(installed capacity 920 MW) and three minor coal-fired stations. All coal-fired stations are in need of major upgrades due to neglect of maintenance and they have frequent production stops or are not producing at all. This leads to frequent and long lasting
blackouts.
Electricity transmission and distribution
The governmental owned
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) is the countries power generating and distributing company.
Electricity interconnectors
Zimbabwe is a member of the Southern African Power Pool.
Imports of energy from neighbouring countries are not enough to solve the undercapacity problem and lack of electricity hampers
economic growth
Economic growth can be defined as the increase or improvement in the inflation-adjusted market value of the goods and services produced by an economy in a financial year. Statisticians conventionally measure such growth as the percent rate of ...
.
A second interconnector with South Africa is in advanced planning stages, according to PIDA, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa. Construction of the Zimbabwe section of the 320 km/ 400 kV South Africa to Zimbabwe transmission interconnector will form part of the total 935 km project across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Distributed energy
Small scale power generators are used all over the country to ease the situation.
Renewable electricity
Hydro and Micro-hydro
Apart from the Kariba Dam power station, hydropower in Zimbabwe has still a lot of potential, especially along the
Zambezi
The Zambezi River (also spelled Zambeze and Zambesi) is the fourth-longest river in Africa, the longest east-flowing river in Africa and the largest flowing into the Indian Ocean from Africa. Its drainage basin covers , slightly less than hal ...
river.
Solar electricity
Solar power has enormous potential both in small scale, such as water heating or in larger scale such as in solar power plants. However, the nation's current economic condition makes adequately rapid solar power buildups seem unrealistic, short of capital infusions and technology transfers from the developed world economies.
Yet there is a thriving solar power industry with over a dozen companies providing solar power systems for residences and commercial enterprises with the largest PV power system of about 600 kWp for the Kefalos cheese factory.
A project in partnership with the United Arab Emirates will result in the construction of a 2,000 MW solar power plant, built in two phases.
If completed it would be the
largest solar power plant in the world.
Wind power
Wind turbine farms could be other possibility for developing a renewable energy infrastructure for Zimbabwe which could comply with the post-2015
sustainable development goals
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals are a collection of 17 interlinked objectives designed to serve as a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future".United Nations (2017) R ...
.
See also
*
Energy in Africa
Energy use and energy development, development in Africa varies widely across the continent, with some African countries exporting energy to neighbors or the global market, while others lack even basic infrastructures or systems to acquire energy ...
*
List of power stations in Zimbabwe
The following page lists all power stations in Zimbabwe.
Coal
Hydroelectric
Proposed hydro power stations
Batoka Gorge Hydroelectric Power Station
Solar
See also
* Energy in Zimbabwe
* List of power stations in Africa
* List of la ...
*
Ministry of Energy and Power Development
The Ministry of Energy and Power Development is a government ministry, responsible for energy and electricity in Zimbabwe. The incumbent minister is Ambassador Joram Gumbo. It oversees:
* Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
* Zimbabwe Energy Reg ...
*
Southern African Power Pool
The Southern African Power Pool (SAPP) is a cooperation of the national electricity companies in Southern Africa under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The members of SAPP have created a common power grid betwe ...
*
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority
Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, (ZESA) whose official name is ZESA Holdings (Private) Limited, is a state-owned company whose task is to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity in Zimbabwe. It has organized this task by delegatio ...
*
Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
*
Zimbabwe Power Company
References
{{Africa topic, Energy in