The government's efforts to provide reliable electricity have taken another step forward with the announcement that a series of feasibility studies have been completed and five new potential minigrid sites have been identified. Contact online >>
The government''s efforts to provide reliable electricity have taken another step forward with the announcement that a series of feasibility studies have been completed and five new potential minigrid sites have been identified.
The announcement was made at the International Renewable Energy Conference and Expo held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe earlier this month, as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the government of Zimbabwe provided an update on the UNDP’s Energy Offer Project, which is funding the development of the minigrids.
First announced in 2022, the Energy Offer Project will spend $1.5 million to develop rural minigrids in Zimbabwe to improve access to electricity. Just 49% of the Zimbabwean population has access to electricity. That number drops to 31.6% for those in rural areas.
The sites were selected based on “factors such as the accessibility of the area, infrastructure present in the area, demography, economic profile and energy resources present as well as possibility of the people to have access to finance and micro credits,” Cassandra Kadenha, Energy Offer Project Coordinator for the UNDP told conference attendees.
EnGreen, an Italian consulting firm that designs and develops off-grid and grid-connected renewable energy systems, conducted the technical and economic feasibility studies for the 5 solar hybrid minigrids.
A minigrid, which is sometimes referred to as a remote microgrid, is typically a faster, cheaper and more reliable way of delivering electricity to remote communities that do not have access to a central grid.
The UNDP is partnering with the Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and Energy Regulatory Agency on this project.
The Zimbabwean government also announced that it had completed the screening of 30 renewable energy projects from independent power producers (IPPs), and ten had been selected.
These projects are expected to generate 271 MW of power, according to The Standard, an independent weekly publication that helped organize the International Renewable Energy Conference.
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Two new solar microgrid projects were celebrated in Africa earlier this month. Hakwata village in Zimbabwe launched a new remote microgrid and plans to build a solar minigrid in the Nigerian village of Duduguru were announced.
In Hakwata village, the community celebrated the launch of a new 200-kW solar microgrid and 900 kWh-battery system earlier this month. The remote microgrid will provide reliable electricity to a local health clinic, school, shops and more than 80 homes.
“The microgrid will not only bring clean power to the Hakwata community but also sets the example for similar renewable energy projects across the country designed to bridge the energy access gap in remote areas, providing rural communities with reliable and clean energy”, said Ayodele Odusola, Resident Representative for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Nearly all households in Hakwata village, which is in southeastern Zimbabwe near the border with Mozambique, fall below the poverty line. None have electricity, with the community relying on firewood as its primary source of energy. The closest grid connection point is nearly 10 miles (16 km) away.
“The transition from inefficient, costly, and polluting fossil fuels will both improve daily life for the residents but also contribute to Zimbabwe’s environment and climate goals by reducing carbon emissions,” said Kudzai Ndidzano, Deputy Director Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife.
The $614,000 Hakwata project was funded by Climate Adaption Water and Energy Programme (CAWEP), a United Nations program designed to help rural communities adapt and become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
CAWEP is a $13.6 million program funded by the United Kingdom in cooperation with the UNDP Zimbabwe, the Rural Electrification Fund, and the government of Zimbabwe.
Husk Power has been one of the most active minigrid developers in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia in recent years. The company’s AI-enabled platforms operate a fleet of more than 200 solar hybrid minigrids in India, Nigeria and Tanzania, providing impacting more than 500,000 people and more than 10,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The company recently announced that it would build a new solar-powered minigrid in Duduguru, a remote community about 120 miles southeast of the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
The minigrid will supply an estimated 656 kW of electricity daily and service around 1,000 customers. Most of those receiving power from the microgrid will be residential customers, though MSMEs and small factories will also be connected.
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