The Umguza Solar Power Station is a proposed 200 MW

solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

plant 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 ...

. The project which will be developed in phases, will see 50 megawatts developed in the first phase. The rest of the project is expected to follow after about three years. The power station is under development by ''AF Power Private Limited'', an independent power producer (IPP), based in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Location

The power station would be located in

Umguza District Umguza is a district in the southern part of Matabeleland North province in Zimbabwe. It was formerly known as Esiphezini District. Geography Umguza District is bounded by Matopo and Umzingwane districts in the southeast, Bulilima and Tsho ...

, in

Matabeleland North Province Matabeleland North is a province in western Zimbabwe. With a population of 749,017 as of the 2012 census, it is the country's second-least populous province, after Matabeleland South, and is the country's least densely populated province. Matabe ...

, outside the city of

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

, the second largest city in Zimbabwe.

Overview

Umguza Solar Power Station is designed to have capacity of 200 megawatts. Its output is expected to be sold directly to the

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 ...

(ZESA). The long-term

power purchase agreement A power purchase agreement (PPA), or electricity power agreement, is a contract between two parties, one which generates electricity (the seller) and one which is looking to purchase electricity (the buyer). The PPA defines all of the commercial te ...

(PPA) governing that transaction had not been signed yet, but was anticipated, as of August 2021.

Developers

The power station is being developed by a Singapore-based group AF Power Private Limited, that is active in Africa, Asia and South America, in the areas of

renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale. It includes sources such as sunlight, wind, the movement of water, and geothermal heat. Although most renewable energy ...

oil and gas A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

, and

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

. The IPP is collaborating with the ''Zimbabwe Investment & Development Agency'' (ZIDA), and the ''Singapore Cooperation Enterprise'' (SCE).

Timeline

According to public statements by the IPP and the government of Zimbabwe, construction for the first phase of 50 megawatts is expected to start in the second half of 2021 and conclude in less than 12 months. Other phases are expected to follow the first phase.

References

External links