President Emmerson Mnangagwa will on Friday launch the first phase of the New Glovers Solar Project, a 10-megawatt plant near Munyati Power Station in Kwekwe, as Zimbabwe pushes to cut power imports and ease pressure on foreign currency reserves, Mining Zimbabwe can report.
By Rudairo Mapuranga
The US$20-million facility (estimated based on regional benchmarks), built by the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF), comprises 18,600 solar panels, 31 inverters, and two smart transformers. A 6-kilometre transmission line connects it directly to the national grid. Annual output is forecast at roughly 20 gigawatt-hours, enough to power about 9,000 average Zimbabwean households.
The 10MW phase is the first step toward a total installed capacity of 110MW once the project is fully completed. No timeline for the remaining 100MW was given in the advisory.
“The plant will significantly reduce reliance on energy imports, conserve foreign currency, and promote energy independence,” the Public Service Commission said in a media advisory.
Zimbabwe currently imports up to 400MW from South Africa’s Eskom and Mozambique’s HCB to cover chronic generation shortfalls at Hwange and Kariba.
The launch event is scheduled for 08:00 on 22 May at the New Glovers Solar Park in Chief Samambwa’s area, Kwekwe District, Midlands Province.
For Zimbabwe’s mining sector, which consumes more than half of the country’s electricity, the project offers a template for pension fund-backed independent power production. The PSPF did not disclose the project’s tariff or power purchase agreement terms.
