Story by Bruce Chahwanda
Government is looking at investing in wind energy generation, with eight sites already under assessment, while procurement of materials is slated for the first quarter of next year.
The ramping up of power generation has remained a priority for government as a number of projects are being rolled out to ensure the country becomes a power hub for the SADC region.
Despite efforts by the private sector, government is eyeing the setting up of wind energy plants across the country, with eight sites under consideration for the projects.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Power Development, Dr Gloria Magombo told the ZBC News, “As we look to boost power generation, we have eight sites where we want to bring out these projects for procurement in the next year once the wind assessments are done. Wind assessments are done at a level of 80 metres above ground and we do measurements for almost two years before we can confirm if we have sufficient resource in that area. So we have a project which we are doing with African Development Bank where we are doing the wind assessments.”
Dr Magombo also emphasised that the Energy Policy of 2012 is under review to accommodate views from other stakeholders while aligning the new framework to changing trends.
“We are doing stakeholder consultations for new energy policy to ensure that it encompasses changing trends. The policy is available on different platforms but most importantly, it will recognise various forms of energy.”
Zimbabwe has lined up several energy projects whose impact will be witnessed mid next year, with independent power producers expected to play a crucial role towards energy self-sufficiency.
