- Old Mutual wants to deploy a 648kWp solar power plant in Zimbabwe.
- Increasing load shedding means that more companies are trooping to solar energy for their power needs.
Old Mutual’s Zimbabwean subsidiary plans to deploy a 648kWp solar power plant at its Emerald Hill headquarters in Harare. The PV system is set to be connected to the Zimbabwean national electricity grid.
Old Mutual has submitted the project for approval to the state regulatory authority, the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (ZERA). The company intends to sell excess production to the state-owned Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC). The project will include constructing a 2.4km transmission line to connect the solar plant to the 33/11 kV Dorset substation.
The increasing load shedding in Zimbabwe means that many companies move to self-generation via clean energy sources such as solar to meet their power supply needs. For example, TotalEnergies Zimbabwe plans to deploy solar in 50 per cent of its service stations over the next couple of years. Other companies that have deployed solar for commercial and industrial purposes include Schweppes Africa Holdings, which deployed a 1MW solar PV system at the cost of $2 million.