PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has said electricity shortages in Zimbabwe and other Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) member States have cast a dark cloud on the region, creating bottlenecks that inhibit development.
He said energy was a key economic enabler for the rest of the world.
Mnangagwa made the remarks on Monday this week while officiating at the groundbreaking ceremony for Titan New Energy's US$1 billion investment project that will establish a 720MW waste-to-energy power plant and a 200MW solar power plant in Hwange.
The project is scheduled for completion and commercial operation by the end of 2028, with an expected annual power output of 5,76 GWh.
Mnangagwa said energy was an important resource that enabled development in Zimbabwe and other Sadc countries.
“At the level of Sadc, the importance of energy in the integration agenda cannot be over-emphasised, more-so because energy access and availability are some of the key enablers of sustainable development.
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“While the region has abundant energy resources, ranging from solar to wind and hydro to gas, there is a need for greater investments. This must see the sector fully harnessing the potential of the region’s energy endowments towards achieving universal access to modern energy services,” he said.
According to the African Development Bank, Mnangagwa said, the overall hydropower potential in Sadc member States was estimated at about 1 100 terawatt hours per year, with capacity being utilised at present still under 50 terawatt hours per year.
He said there was a need for the region to focus on increasing, not only generation capacity, but also the uptake of renewable energy to achieve a sustainable energy mix.
“Another critical area that needs partnerships and investments for a viable and vibrant energy sector in Sadc is the construction of more transmission interconnections across the region. This will enable collective and shared benefits from new generation capacity installed in the respective countries within the region,” Mnangagwa said.
“Investors are, therefore, invited to explore the numerous prospects which exist for both in-country and cross-border energy projects in Sadc.”
Zesa Holdings executive chairman, Sydney Gata, said a number of companies had come together to invest in Zimbabwe’s energy sector which would see the country enjoying a surplus in two years to come.
“We have 18 projects which will give us a surplus of 4 000MW altogether and we are only short of 600MW. So in two years’ time we will have too much surplus and we are starting to think of where we are going to sell it,” he said.