SHARM EL SHEIKH, Egypt – Zimbabwe is taking advantage of the ongoing COP27 to look for investors who can offer finance for the development of renewable energy so as to gradually move away from fossil fuels and reduce emissions, Energy and Power Development Minister Soda Zhemu has said.
His remarks come at a time when the world wants to phase down the use of fossil fuels and move over to renewable energies in light of rising global calamities brought about by floods, veld fires and droughts due to climate change. At the same time there is a need for Africa to develop and grow economically using renewable technologies so its people can have better lives without damaging the planet.
“We are attending COP27 and our expectation would be to unlock investments in renewable energy,” said Minister Zhemu.
He said Zimbabwe had prepared for the transition from fossil fuels some time back and crafted policies like the Renewable Energy Policy of 2019 and the Biofuels Policy of 2020.
The Renewable Energy Policy speaks to the development and deployment of renewable energy technologies in Zimbabwe and potential has been identified in solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels.
Minister Zhemu said renewable energy was one of the areas where Zimbabwe targets a contribution of around 16,5 percent or 1 100MW by year 2025, in line with the National Development Strategy 1 (NDS1), which anchors Vision 2030 of a prosperous and empowered upper middle-income society.
Going into 2030, Minister Zhemu said renewable energy should be contributing around 26,5 percent or 2 100MW to the national energy mix.
“So, all we need is funding. In terms of readiness, we are ready. There is US$100 billion (promised by developed countries for climate change mitigation) that has been spoken about but is yet to be realised and we would want to get money obviously on conditions that don’t stifle the economy.
“We prefer grants as opposed to loans, especially from the US$100 billion. Demand for electricity is outstripping supply and we think we shall be recovering soon, with the coming in of Hwange Power Station,” said Minister Zhemu.
Zimbabwe is confronting an electricity deficit of around 250MW and the expansion of Hwange Power Station that should boost power generation by 600MW, is now at an advanced stage.
Unit 7, which will add 300MW, is expected to be switched on sometime this month, all things being equal, in a development that would reduce power shortages.
Unit 8 is expected to go live in the first quarter of next year, further reducing electricity shortages, and hive off Zimbabwe’s dependence on neighbours for additional power.
Yesterday, Zimbabwe was generating 1 090 MW with Hwange contributing 393MW, Kariba 666MW, Munyati 12MW and Bulawayo 20MW.
Some electricity was also coming in from Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique.
The other key hydro electricity project that can help Zimbabwe reduce its power deficit is the Batoka Gorge development, which has capacity to generate 2 400MW to be shared equally between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Feasibility studies on the Batoka Gorge project have been concluded while the environmental impact study has also been carried out and finalised by the two agencies responsible for the environment in Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The Environmental Management Agency (EMA) and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) are now considering the outcomes from the environmental studies and will soon issue a certificate, but only if they are satisfied with what was done. Minister Zhemu said mobilisation of funds for the Batoka project was underway.
“It’s one of the areas which we have greater expectation from attending this COP 27. The Zambezi River Authority team is here and they will be making a special presentation to motivate for funding for the development of Batoka.
“So it’s a project which is in progress and we look forward to mobilisation of funding soon,” said Minister Zhemu.
The national coordinator on climate change and Chief Director on Environment and Climate Services, Professor Prosper Matondi, yesterday said it was important to have a just transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
He conceded that fossil fuels were the major contributory factor to the climate crisis, from the 1800s when the industrial revolution started.
Global temperatures have soared and from last year’s COP 26 held in Glasgow and the 2015 Paris conference, world leaders agreed to reduce temperatures to a minimum average of 1,5 degrees Celsius by 2030.
“That has not been achieved because most countries are developing and are using a lot of energy, much of it comes from fossil energy that is your coal bed methane and oil.
“So that’s the greatest challenge we face,” said Prof Matondi.
At the Glasgow conference last year, it was agreed that coal use should be phased down by 2030 and Zimbabwe signed the agreement, despite not being a huge emitter.
“We are insignificant when it comes to global emissions, but we are being called upon to play an active role in reducing the global mean temperature to about 1,5 degrees Celsius, and for that reason, we agree that we need to phase down,” said Prof Matondi.
However, the phase down would be done in a manner that does not disrupt economic progress, given that in Zimbabwe and other developing countries, fossil fuels are anchoring development and replacement, plus the need to grow generation capacity to meet legitimate needs, require large investments, hence the stress on climate funds. – The Herald
