The Green Digest December 1, 2022

December 1 2022

Legislation,
scal

incentives
for IPPs can
address Zim’s
power de cit

Growing EV adoption
in Zimbabwe

The Green Digest December 1 2022 2

Inside:

■ Dates set for 2023 4th

Renewable Energy indaba .. p4

■ Power crisis, poor infrastructure ham-

pers electric vehicle adoption in Zim .. p6

■ Old Mutual in green energy drive.. p10
■Zim joins climate fight with carbon

emission reduction.. p14

Cover: Dates for the fourth
International Renewable En-
ergy Conference and Expo
announced.

Government says it is committed to reducing the aviation carbon
footprint by developing a State Action

The Green Digest is published daily by Alpha Media EDITOR BULAWAYO OFFICE: BULAWAYO
Holdings Alfonce Mbizwo, [email protected] Amtec Building.Cnr 12th Ave/Robert Mugabe Way AMTEC Building,
Cnr Strand/Bessemer Roads, Graniteside, Harare SUB EDITOR & DESIGNER Tel: 883184-8/887057/58/69/70/71 No. 116 R Mugabe way cnr 12 Avenue,1 St Floor
PO Box BE 1165, Belvedere, Harare, Zimbabwe Freeman Makopa, [email protected] Fax 76837 Amtec
Tel: 773934-8, 798894-6, 771635. MARKETING & ADVERTISING: After hours editorial 0714 119 403 Building. Bulawayo
DIRECTORS Commercial Executive, Punish Murumbi, P.O. Box AC 558, Ascot, Bulawayo. Tel. 883184/5/6/7/8,887069/70/1,887058/885
Chairman: Trevor Ncube, [email protected] [email protected] DISTRIBUTION & SUBSCRIPTIONS: 280/1/2.
Phineas S Hwata, Sternford Moyo, Mari Budesa, Business Development Manager, Wilson Masawa, Munn Marketing (1992) (Pvt) Ltd PRINTERS:
Rashid Maliki, Mohamed Nanabhay, Kenias [email protected] PO Box 10460, Harare. ZimInd Publishers, Cnr Strand/Bessemer Roads
Mafukidze (GCEO) Cnr Strand/Bessemer Roads, Graniteside Graniteside, Harare. Tel: 771722/3
EDITOR IN CHIEF Tel: 771722/3, 755333
Wisdom Mdzungairi, [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]
Cell: 0773 207 437

The Green Digest December 1 2022 3

The Green Digest December 1 25 2022 4

ENERGY

President Emmerson Mnangagwa and some of the participants at the third International Renewable Energy
Conference and Expo hosted by Alpha Media Holdings in March early this year

Dates set for 2023 4th
Renewable Energy indaba

BY FREEMAN MAKOPA set some of the challenges that come with reliance on fos-
sil fuels.
D ates for the fourth International Renewable
Energy Conference and Expo to be hosted by The conference will provide unique opportunities for fruit-
Alpha Media ful discussions on renewable energy grid infrastructures,
Holdings next year have been set, organis- latest technologies and engineering design methods, and
ers have said. best practices that address industrial challenges.
The four-day conference, which is scheduled to run from
March 21 to 24 at Elephant Hills Hotel, Victoria Zimbabwe has endorsed the adoption of renewable ener-
gy and AMH has taken a leading role in the facilitation of the
Falls, is the leading forum for disseminating the latest re- processes that the country will follow in its quest for clean
searches and policies on renewable energy in the country energy by 2030.
and region.
AMH chief executive officer, Kenias Mafukidze said smart
Zimbabwe and the region are on a drive to embrace re- management of the future has to involve the
newable energy to help slow down climate change and off-
aggressive pursuit of clean energy.

The Green Digest December 1 2022 5

“It’s becoming increasingly clear that climate change is Egypt, Spain, Asia and the southern African region coun-

upon our planet. As AMH, we are excited to be partnering tries have also expressed interest.”

the Ministry of Energy in hosting the 4th International Re- At this year’s edition of the Conference in March, govern-

newable Conference and Expo for which His Excellency, ment revealed that it had requested

President Emmerson Mnangagwa the Patron,” he said. Zimbabwe’s licensed independent power producers (IPPs)

“Smart management of the future has to involve the ag- to start making meaningful input into the national grid.

gressive pursuit of clean energy possibilities. We are excit- According to the Ministry of Energy and Power Develop-

ed as this is likely to have over 300 ment, more than 90 licens-

local and international delegates Smart management of the future has to in- es have been issued to
including financiers.” volve the aggressive pursuit of clean energy IPPs with renewa-

AMH business development ble energy projects, but

manager Wilson Masawa said the possibilities. We are excited as this is likely only 20 had shown pro-
conference has attracted partici- to have over 300 local and international gress.
pants from different facets of the delegates including nanciers
energy spectrum and policy mak- Currently, Zimbabwe
is participating in the de-

ers with the aim of pushing the velopment of the green

climate change agenda. hydrogen atlas for Africa

“We are expecting experts, finan- — aninitiative that is meant

cial stakeholders and other stakeholders to attend the con- to come up with data to confirm the possibility to produce

ference which seeks to push and champion the climate green hydrogen from various water sources and renewa-

change agenda. We are expecting the conference to come ble sources.

up with solutions that will help mitigate and eliminate cli- Zimbabwe, which is currently experiencing rolling power

mate change,” he said. cuts due to generation challenges at its key plants of Kariba

“We are expecting more than 300 local and international South and Hwange, has shifted its focus to renewable ener-

delegates with some coming from as far as gy to offset the electricity grid deficit.

The Green Digest December 1 2022 6

INTERVIEW

Tanaka kutama

Power crisis, poor infrastructure

hampers electric vehicle adoption in Zim

THE number of electric vehicles (EVs)s has been on the in- til I started trading EVs in the process gaining a reputation as an
crease in Zimbabwe but the adoption of this new phenome- expert locally and regionally.
non has been hampered by a cocktail of challenges includ-
ing the availability of electricity and charging stations as well TM: What inspired you to get into electric vehicles?
as maintenance costs. Green Digest reporter Taurai Man- TK: I am a man of the future. I have always wanted to find
gudhla (TM) this week interviewed EV enthusiast Tanaka Kutama (TK) of ways of improving Africa's transport system. I have been
Zimtorque, a start-up that imports and sells battery electric vehicles and an advocate for green technology and sustainable energy so I
plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. thought why not invest in something that I am already passion-
ate about? At the time EVs had just started to get popular with
Below are excerpts of the interview; only the Nissan Leaf and Tesla being the first to go into mass
TM: How did you get into the industry considering that it is production. Toyota had attempted an electric vehicle Rav 4 in
a new phenomenon in the country? 1998 which, however, did not succeed due to the unavailability
TK: I started in 2014 studying and researching hybrid cars, of infrastructure and enough education.
mainly the Toyota Prius, Toyota Camry and Honda Fit. I then TM: You have travelled a lot and interacted with colleagues in the
managed to convince to import a Toyota Camry Hybrid to test trade across the world, what major lessons did you learn?
for efficiency and then we got another BMW Active Hybrid 5 for
the same test. After that, I started saving to bring the fully elec- TK: I have presented at the 2020 Renewable Energy Expo,
tric Nissan Leaf 24kwh and my interest and knowledge grew un- e-mobility Southern Africa Congress and trained with Eu-
rope's biggest smart electric vehicle charging network.

The Green Digest December 1 2022 7

INTERVIEW

e United Nations (UN) has set a countries showed that they were certain areas emitted close to
2030 target for emission reduction. 60% of carbon into the atmosphere.
And to showcase this Covid-19 was
a clear example that nature wanted TM: What barriers, in your view, are hindering the purchase of EVs in
to breathe and wanted emissions to Zimbabwe?
reduce. A case study whilst on lock-
down in some countries showed TK: The cost of purchasing an EV and the power cuts, in which
that they were certain areas emit- there is a way to mitigate these two. On power, we can create
ted close to 60% of carbon into the sustainable energy through solar. Imagine at Copacabana bus
atmosphere. terminus in Harare covered in solar panels. How much power
can be harnessed from there?
Certainly, the world is going green and big companies are in-
vesting billions to reduce carbon emissions not only in transport The cost of buying an EV can be reduced by encouraging the
but in industry. I have learnt that Zimbabwe has got the skill, assembly of these units in the country or encouraging car man-
products and knowledge to offer sustainable energy in trans- ufacturers to gain reduced import costs from the government.
port.
TM: Consumers have often bemoaned maintenance costs for battery
Zimbabwe can also take advantage of its lithium to drivthe packs for EVs. Is that a hindrance?
use of solar energy. The United Nations (UN) has set a 2030
target for emission reduction. And to showcase this Covid-19 TK: Every car has its maintenance costs. Sometimes you
was a clear example that nature wanted to breathe and wanted don’t have to replace the whole battery pack but you can replace
emissions to reduce. A case study whilst on lockdown in some the dead cells as these battery packs are small lithium-ion bat-
teries. This requires a professional technician who is also avail-
able here in Zimbabwe

TM: Is there adequate support for EVs in Zimbabwe?
TK: Currently service support is growing. We have a master
technician in high voltage systems for cars in
Zimbabwe who is also currently training more technicians and
the service maintenance for an EV is every 20 000km to 25
000km depending on use.
TM: What of charging stations?

The Green Digest December 1 2022 8

INTERVIEW

TK: Currently I have installed six charging stations which are in which one comes first the cars or the charging stations. I feel
due to be opened to the public located in Harare, Mutare, Bu- in Zimbabwe we will need to increase the charging network to
lawayo and Gweru. This charging network will be called The entice the adoption
Drive-E and will manage a system where anyone with a charg-
ing station will be added to our network. TM: What would you say has been your major contribution to the lo-
cal EV market so far?
TM: To what extent do charging stations affect sales?
TK: Infrastructure is important. 10 years ago we did not have TK: I have been part of the e-mobility framework policy devel-
as many service stations as we have now. So slowly the network opment, one of the first in the country to install 9 smart charg-
is growing. However, it is always the chicken and egg factor as ing stations for home and public use which earned me a certified
Wallbox retailer status. Furthermore,

Zimbabwe is the key to pioneering this industry, there needs to be seri-
ous encouragement of investors to start this green economy.

The Green Digest December 1 2022 9

INTERVIEW

Dr Fortunate
Farirai makes a
presentation at the
3rd International
Renewable Energy
Conference and

Expo

I have presented at the Renewable energy expo, e- mobility industry and e-mobility.
Congress Southern Africa and became one of the only Africans Zimbabwe is the key to pioneering this industry, there needs
who is a member of World EV day.
to be serious encouragement of investors to start this green
TM: Finally, what is your assessment of Zimbabwe’s EV policy envi- economy. Many houses now use solar as their source of power
ronment? not forgetting various industries and service stations have gone
fully solar in Zimbabwe. Grid- tied is another introduction which
TK: The country has currently developed a framework policy can push the green economy where excess solar power is sent
which will incentivise the growth of the green economy. I like to back into the grid.
call it the green economy which will have a sustainable energy

The Green Digest December 1 2022 10

Old Mutual renewable energy policy in line with global calls to ease the
in green impact of global warming.

energy drive Global experts on climate change adaptation have im-
plored authorities to speed up the adoption of renewable en-
Research from the Zimbabwe Energy Council ergy to mitigate the negative impact of global warming.
shows that the country has a renewable energy
potential of 1 872 megawatts (MW) of power, at Research from the Zimbabwe Energy Council shows that
a time when the electricity de cit is between 1 the country has a renewable energy potential of 1 872 meg-
awatts (MW) of power, at a time when the electricity deficit is
200 and 1 600MW. between 1 200 and 1 600MW.

BY FREEMAN MAKOPA Old Mutual Group customer and operations officer, Isiah
Financial services provider Old Mutual Zimbabwe says it is Mashinya said the company was investing in renewable en-
committed to a transition to renewable energy through invest- ergy plants around the country.
ing in solar farms and hydro-projects around the country.
“So, we have done quite a lot on renewable energy as you
This comes amid the government plans to finally unveil a can see we have got this solar plant here (head office). The
idea was to make ourselves self-sufficient here at our head
office,” he said.

“Going forward there is a couple of other ones and some
of them are at like a feasibility study. Once the promoters are
ready we then look at them and support them. So, we are
looking at solar, we are looking at hydro.”

The Green Digest December 1 2022 11

RENEWABLE ENERGY

In November last year, Old Mutual launched the 0.64MW 20MW solar farm in Seke just outside of

solar plant for its Business Park in Harare, while the com- Harare which will provide power to 45 000 households,

pany has invested US$12.4 billion into solar projects according to officials. The project Is set for completion

around Zimbabwe that will generate a combined 25MW this year. According to the Ministry of Energy and Power

upon comple- Old Mutual launched the 0.64MW solar plant for Development, more than
tion. 90 licenses have been

Among other its Business Park in Harare, while the company has issued to
projects, OMZim IPPs with renewable
has invested in invested US$12.4 billion into solar projects around energy projects, but only

is a 5.4MW so-Zimbabwe that will generate a combined 25MW upon20 had shown progress.

lar farm at Cross completion Currently, Zimbabwe
Mabale in is participating in the de-

Dete, Matabe- velopment of the green

leland North province, a joint venture between Old Mutu- hydrogen atlas for Africa — an initiative that is meant to

al Investment Group and Solgas Energy which went live come up with data to confirm the possibility to produce

last November. green hydrogen from various water sources and renew-

It also invested in Harava Solar, which is building a able energy.

The Green Digest December 1 2022 12

HYDRO POWER

Legislation, scal incentives for IPPs

can address Zim’s power de cit

Zimbabwe’s power crisis is about to get a lot worse rica said rooftop solar was very underrated in Zimbabwe yet it
as Kariba, which produces over 70% of the coun-
try’s power, has to shut down because it has run out was one of the quickest ways to reduce pressure on the errat-
of water to generate electricity.
The latest episode in Zimbabwe’s rolling power ic grid.
cuts have left industry players bemused.
“The more people wean themselves off the grid the better for
In a discussion on social media, they felt authorities could do
better. We start the week with the
news that we have completely
“We start the week with the news that we have complete- run down our allocated water
ly run down our allocated water for power generation at the for power generation at the
1,050MW Kariba South hydroelectric power plant in Zimbabwe. 1,050MW Kariba South hydro-
That is about 75% of domestic generation gone, leaving us with electric power plant in Zimba-
Hwange which is trudging along at about 350MW,” said bwe. at is about 75% of do-
mestic generation gone, leaving
Victor Utenzi, director of African Transmission Corporation us with Hwange which is trudg-
and chairman of the Zimbabwe Independent
ing along at about 350MW
Power Producers Association (Zippa).
“What are our options? We negotiate to buy water from Zam-
bia’s allocation or buy electricity from them. It’s highly unlikely
they would sell us a single drop as they have ample generation
capacity to fully utilize that water. We now face stiff competition
from neighbors for excess capacity that’s in Zambia.
Let’s brace for a few tough months ahead.”
Nyasha Chasakara, managing director of Solarpro Energy Af-

The Green Digest December 1 2022 13

HYDRO POWER

the country. Scaling up rooftop solar requires a change in In contrast, Zimbabwe relied mainly on the Kariba South
mindsets by local funders and regulators. How can we be Bank’s output of 1050MW, while Hwange has
charging interest rates of 200% in ZWL and expect people to
borrow and go solar?” he said. 920MW installed capacity, it was managing between 100-
350MW, while Zesa’s small thermal stations at
“Its high time everyone comes to the party and play. Per-
haps there needs to be a new interest rate terms that allow Munyati and Bulawayo and IPPs were producing about
those who qualify for loans to borrow and go solar.” 100MW. Utenzi noted that peak demand in the two countries
was comparable.
Liberty Zhuwao, an electrical technician noted that Zimba-
bwe did not have a clear energy policy and resilience to stick “As a result, Zambia has far more flexibility in scheduling
to its pledges. generation at Kariba North Bank. Due to incessant break-
downs at Hwange, we had limited choices: pump Kari-
“We obsess in ideas but lack the zeal to creatively express ba harder than we would have wished, increase imports or
ourselves. Power utility companies usually release tenders face longer power cuts. We obviously utilized a mixture of
worth millions and I just have a feeling that the equipment is all those. Kariba kept the lights on virtually on a 24/7 ba-
procured unnecessarily just to make other people earn mil- sis when in fact it should operate only during morning and
lions of USDs.” evening peak hours,” he said.

Utenzi said generation problems at Hwange Power Station To improve the situation, Utenzi said the government
led to too much reliance on Kariba South, leading to the cur- should consider enforcing commercial exploitation of the re-
rent problems. newable energy resource and create a conducive environ-
ment with fiscal incentives for developers.
“We ran Kariba harder than the Zambians. Look at Zam-
bia’s generation fleet: 900MW Kafue Upper, Zimbabweans are already facing long hours without pow-
er, while the new Hwange power units 7 & 8, which will
750MW Kafue Lower, 1080MW Kariba North Bank, 120MW add a combined 600MW, are only expected to come on to the
from Itezhi-Tezhi, and 108MW from Victoria grid in 2023.

Falls, and a few IPPs in hundreds of megawatts,” he said.

The Green Digest December 1 2022 14

CARBON FOOTPRINT

Zim joins
climate ght
with carbon
emission
reduction
plan ducing the aviation carbon footprint and this is evidenced
through the submission of our State Action Plan (SAP) for
e UK was one of the rst carbon emission reduction earlier this year,” Transport and
countries to include aviation Infrastructure
emissions in their climate tar-
gets in 2021 and helped launch Development minister Felix Mhona told the Green Di-
the International Aviation Cli- gest.
mate Ambition Coalition at
Mhona said the country has taken a conscious decision
COP26. to voluntarily participate in the Carbon

BY FREEMAN MAKOPA Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Avia-
tion with effect from January 2023.
G overnment says it is committed to reducing
the aviation carbon footprint by developing According to the minister, Zimbabwe is exploring possi-
a State Action bilities of producing Sustainable Aviation Fuels
Plan (SAP) for carbon emission reduction.
The global aviation industry produces (SAFs) banking on its experience and research in green
around 2.1% of all human-induced carbon dioxide (CO2) fuels.
emissions. Aviation is responsible for 12% of CO2 emis-
sions from all transport sources, compared to 74% from When the world came together in Paris in 2015 to agree
road transport. on a long-term plan to tackle climate change, two key in-
dustries were missing - aviation and shipping.
The emissions have doubled since the mid-1980s. But,
they’ve been growing at a similar rate as total The airline industry contributes around 2.5% of glob-
al carbon emissions, but scientists believe it has a much
CO2 emissions – this means its share of global emissions higher impact on climate change than this figure suggests.
has been relatively stable: in the range of 2% to 2.5%.
This is because of the multiple impacts of flying including
“Climate change is a global challenge requiring an urgent the altitudes planes fly at and the effects of contrails - the
response. To that end, as a State, we are committed to re- water-vapour trails produced by engines.

However, the air transport industry has been under in-
creasing pressure from consumers and scientists to try to
find ways to decarbonise air travel for several years, with
limited success.

At the ICAO triennial assembly in Montreal, member
states finally agreed to support a net zero target for 2050,
despite grumbles from China and Russia.

The UK was one of the first countries to include avia-
tion emissions in their climate targets in 2021 and helped
launch the International Aviation Climate Ambition Coali-
tion at COP26.

Mhona said the southern African nation was delighted to
be part of the ICAO Assistance, Capacity-

The Green Digest December 1 2022 15

CARBON FOOTPRINT

e global aviation industry produces around 2.1% of all human-induced carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions. Aviation is responsible for 12% of CO2 emissions from all transport sources, com-

pared to 74% from road transport.

Building and Training for Sustainable Aviation Fuels Pro- and all future emissions above the level of that period would
gramme (ICAO ACT-SAF) which aims at the attainment of have to be offset.
global targets and goals on environmental protection and
tackling climate change. Initially, they had planned to use an average of flying
emissions in 2019 and 2020 - but the onset of the
ICAO has now agreed that airlines will use the Carbon
Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Covid-19 pandemic saw air transport decline rapidly.
While campaigners were delighted with the prospect of
Aviation (CORSIA). a low baseline that would have forced airlines to offset far
Under the scheme, airlines would agree to a baseline year more of their emissions, the industry balked.

The Green Digest December 1 2022 16