Time to diffuse energy poverty through solar power generation

As a country there is a need to ensure reliable, efficient, and sustainable electricity delivery through adopting a mechanism for harnessing resources towards that goal. The Mandatory Domestic Energy Fund has the capacity diffuse energy poverty in our country.

The focus on clean energy in Zimbabwe is tied to larger goals of building climate-resilient cities and promoting a green economy. With energy security becoming a cornerstone of sustainable urbanisation and regional stability,  renewable energy generation in Zimbabwe has a capacity to play a pivotal role in reshaping Zimbabwe as a low-carbon growth engine.

As a country there is a need to ensure reliable, efficient, and sustainable electricity delivery through adopting a mechanism for harnessing resources towards that goal. The Mandatory Domestic Energy Fund has the capacity diffuse energy poverty in our country.

This model is deliberately geared towards strengthening capacity building of renewable energy infrastructure vital to ensure optimum power generation. It will enable the country to seamlessly adopt solar energy as an alternative in order to alleviate the perennial power crisis in Zimbabwe.

While the general populace in Zimbabwe has embraced solar energy for domestic use such as lighting, cooking and powering household gadgets, meaningful power generation to sustain industrial capacity or rural economic livelihoods remain a pie in the sky owing to the lack of financial investment in critical energy infrastructure which supports such activities.

Zimbabwe enjoys photovoltaic sunlight in abundance to support solar energy grids, but lack of funding remains the major hindrance to alleviate energy poverty through renewable energy systems.

In that regard, the government needs to implement a Mandatory Domestic Energy Fund focused on improving the generation capacity of renewable energy infrastructure and structural mechanisms that enables green energy producers to feed power into the national grid.

Independent power producers should be empowered through financial instruments such as the Targeted Finance facility recently launched by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to support critical productive sectors of the economy.

Local companies must also explore and venture into international partnerships with established entities in developed countries to unlock potential through skills and technology transfer.

This can be achieved through participating at international forums where they interact with renowned experts in energy and power generation and learn from them on the latest trends and innovations on solar technology.

One such platform which I can recommend is the Solar & Live Storage Africa, an annual week-long event geared on solar power generation and storage. I have benefitted immensely from interacting with global leaders in the energy sector, hence I am now advocating for the implementation of clean energy solutions to cure a national problem.

Other African countries such as South Africa, Ethiopia and Kenya are well ahead of the pack in terms of harnessing green energy for sustainable development. Likewise, we must follow their lead and modernise our power generation systems. Gone are the days when we used to rely on thermal and hydro power generation as climate change is now rendering them inefficient.

The adoption of clean energy options is in line with the government’s climate change mitigation and adaptation thrust as stipulated in the National Development Strategy 1.

Thus, it is fundamental for the authorities to spearhead the construction of solar grids to enable communities to be self sufficient in terms of meeting their energy requirements for developmental needs.

This is why our organisation, Power Giants Africa, has taken a lead in implementing the rooftop solar project so that every household will be capable of harnessing their own power to sustain them at family level.

However, policymakers should enhance support for the installation and operationalisation of rooftop solar systems across the country.

It is a travesty of justice that the nation is missing out on this vast potential hence we are leading at the forefront to set the right trajectory.

In the next installment I shall dwell on the operationalisation of the Mandatory Domestic Energy Fund and how it will transform Zimbabwe’s energy landscape.

*Dr Edzai Kachirekwa can be contacted on [email protected]

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