With the valves closed at the Kariba hydropower plant, Zimbabwe is looking to the sun to meet its power needs.According to the Zimbabwe National Water Authority, Kariba is 3.7% full, and Zimbabwe has used up its water allocation, which was used for power generation.This has taken 1 050 megawatts (MW), or three-quarters of the country's power generation capacity, out of the grid.Electricity now comes from the Hwange Power Station, which produces an average of 350MW (against peak demand of 2 000MW), and neighbours, which are all grappling with their own shortages – largely due to the domino effect of the collapse of Eskom, which once powered up South Africa and the region. Blackouts last up to 18 hours at a time.The response by government and the private sector will boost the demand for project cargo and renewable energy components.In December 2022, the United Nations resident coordinator in Zimbabwe, Edward Kallon, launched the “Catalyzing Investment into Renewable Energy for the Acceleration of the Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals in Zimbabwe” programme, which aims to unlock over $40 million for renewable energy for the country.There are three sources of finance – the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG) Fund (US$10m),Old Mutual Investment Group (US$10m), and the government through the InfrastructureDevelopment Bank of Zimbabwe (IDBZ) (US$1m).Fund manager Old Mutual is responsible for attracting further investment in order to close the fund at $45m.The Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority has licensed more than 200 companies to generate electricity, and it is hoped that the fund will speed up the rollout.Some 2 000 MW is from renewable sources, with the remainder being from coal-fired stations that are unlikely to raise the necessary finance.China, one of the last funders of coal-powered stations, announced in September 2022 that it would stop building new coal projects abroad as part of its contribution to reducing carbon emissions.At the launch of the $45m fund, the Zimbabwean government announced incentives to accelerate the rollout of private sector projects valued at around $1bn, which will provide 1 000 MW of solar power to the grid."A key ingredient to the successful implementation of the solar IPPs projects is a bankable government implementation agreement with an economic tariff," finance minister Mthuli Ncube said in a statement.“The current energy challenges, coupled with climate challenges, call for one unified solution, a rapid and extensive adoption of renewable energy technologies in the country,” Kallon said.Sun power may be used to produce green hydrogen, as well as electricity.Zimbabwe is participating in the H2Atlas-Africa project, an initiative of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in partnership with a consortium of African research institutions and organisations in 12 southern African countries.Southern Africa has been identified as one of four African green hydrogen hubs, which studies have shown have the potential to generate 50m tons of green hydrogen a year by 2035.A study conducted for the project found that solar-powered green hydrogen can be produced at less than EUR2 per kilogramme, which is equivalent to $60 a barrel.Zimbabwe has a technological head start.Kwekwe-based Sable Chemical Industries has been producing ammonia for use in fertilisers through water electrolysis since 1972.
